The Australian Boomers are in advanced talks to play a pair of exhibition games -- against Team USA and Serbia -- in Abu Dhabi ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, sources told ESPN.
In the proposed showcase, the Boomers would face the two powerhouse nations in the middle of July in the United Arab Emirates' capital, sources said.
The Boomers would then travel to Europe for another slate of warmup games, sources said, ahead of the start of the Olympics on July 26 in Paris, France.
The Boomers -- Australia's men's basketball team -- are coming off a 10th place finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and secured an automatic qualification for the Olympics as the highest-finishing team from the Oceania region.
Brian Goorjian remains at the helm for the Boomers for Paris 2024, having led the program to its first medal in a major international tournament when the team won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The pair of warmup games in Abu Dhabi would see the Boomers go up against two of the gold medal favourites going into the Olympics.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are among the NBA stars who have already expressed their interest in being part of the USA's Olympics campaign, following the program's fourth place finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Serbia finished in second place at the World Cup, and did so without Nikola Jokic, the NBA's reigning Finals MVP.
The Boomers' World Cup team featured eight players who are currently in the NBA, led by Josh Giddey, Danté Exum, Patty Mills, Josh Green, and Joe Ingles. The roster was rounded out by Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Matisse Thybulle, Xavier Cooks, Chris Goulding, Nick Kay, and Jack White; Jock Landale missed the entirety of the tournament with an ankle injury.
Currently, eight countries have qualified for the Olympics: Australia, USA, Serbia, France, Germany, Canada, South Sudan, and Japan. The remaining four teams will be determined during the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, set to take place in the beginning of July.