Nene craves chance to play Olympics at home in Brazil

WASHINGTON DC (2016 Rio Olympics) - Nene has already lived one Olympic experience with Brazil. The long-time NBA center took the famous walk in the Opening Ceremony and waved to the crowd at the London Games in 2012.

He stayed in the Olympic Village with the world's greatest athletes. Nene competed on the hardwood and did so in competent, at times dominating fashion as Brazil reached the Quarter-Finals in their first Olympic Games since 1996.

In their opening game against Australia in London, Nene had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Brazil prevailed, 75-71.

Nene (BRA) made his Olympic bow at the London Games

As great as the experience was, Nene says, 2016 promises to be even better.

The 33-year-old will play in his homeland in front of family, friends and compatriots. It's something he can hardly wait to do.

"When I hear the words 'Olympics Games', I think about the best sports tournament in the world," the Washington Wizards center said to FIBA.com. "It's a competition where only the top athletes can compete."

Knowing that we will be playing at home is a privilege, but it also means that we have a lot of responsibility, more pressure than usual. I think that if our preparation is great and if we have the support of the whole country, we can have a great campaign on home home soil. - Nene

The last time Brazil played in a big tournament was at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. At times, they looked like a team that would capture a medal.

One star that was crucial to the cause in 2014 was long-time national team center, Tiago Splitter. He may not be in Rio.

Though he has not been officially ruled out of the Olympics, Splitter is recovering from a hip operation that cut short his NBA season with the Atlanta Hawks. The subject of Splitter came up when Nene recently met with national team coach Ruben Magnano.

"We had a good conversation," Nene said. "We talked about the team; it was very interesting. We aren't going to count on Tiago Splitter as he is injured. He has a lot of experience and I count on the other players to compensate for Tiago's absence."

Splitter is the heart and soul of Brazil, which is why everyone hopes his recovery will be fast enough that he can play in Rio. Every team has injury issues and needs to bring in reinforcements, though.

Are Brazil's good enough? They had a lot of new faces last year when they won the Pan American Games but the team did not do well at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City.

Nene nevertheless believes there are a lot of newcomers that can make a positive difference and help make up for the likely loss of Splitter.

"We can count on some young players that will have the opportunity to show what they can do with the national jersey on their shoulders," Nene said. "It's not great to have players injured, even more a veteran and experienced guy (like Splitter), but it can also be an opportunity for someone else to show his talent."

With that in mind, Magnano is going to want to make the most out of the build-up to the Rio Games. Brazil cannot wait for the start of the Olympics to begin playing well. They need to feel a sense of urgency now.

The potential is great, but the results will speak for themselves. We need to play together, as a team; we need to believe in ourselves in order to make history at home. - Nene

Nene, meanwhile, is going to have more time to get ready for the Games than he had anticipated. After making the play-offs last year with the Washington Wizards, the NBA side came up short of the 2016 post-season.

The veteran will be out of contract and looking to sign a new one. It remains to be seen if it's with Washington or another team.

"As a professional, I did everything I had to do and did my best this season," he said. "Like my first season in the NBA, I have been very professional and my mindset has always been to work hard and give my best to the team I played for.

"I will meet up with my agent, my brother - who is one of my best advisors - and my family to see what the best situation will be for me next season. I will take the best decision for my family and myself. I am pretty confident for the future."

FIBA