Former Wisconsin Basketball Forward to Play in the 2024 Olympics

Badgers fans will have an opportunity to see a former Wisconsin basketball player play in the 2024 Olympics taking place in Paris, France.

Aleem Ford (#12), who played for Wisconsin from 2017-2021, will partake in the summer games as a member of the Puerto Rico men’s basketball team.

For the first time since 2004, Puerto Rico men’s basketball 🇵🇷 is headed to the Olympics! 🙌 #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/1IR6f5r3Qf

— FIBA (@FIBA) July 8, 2024

Puerto Rico won the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to earn the country’s first trip to the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament in 20 years.

The former Wisconsin basketball forward played in three of the four games, averaging 7.2 minutes per game. In that limited action, Ford scored 4.0 points per game on 44.4% from the field and going perfect (2/2) from inside the arc and 2/2 from the free throw line.  He also averaged 1.7 rebounds per game and 0.3 blocks per game.

Puerto Rico will be placed in Group C, along with the United States, Serbia (led by Nikola Jokic), and South Sudan, who will be making their first-ever appearance in the Olympics. It’s a pretty tough draw, but two teams from each group will advance, plus the two best-place teams will move on past the group phase.

Ford, however, is no stranger to professional play. He has spent the majority of his time in the NBA G League, most recently with the Wisconsin Herd, the Milwaukee Bucks’ G League affiliate. But he has played a few games in the NBA with the Orlando Magic, averaging 2.8 points per game in his short stint. During his time in the G League, the former Wisconsin basketball player has averaged 11.3 points per game over his career.

Puerto Rico will kick off their Olympic games on July 28 when they take on South Sudan at 6:00 AM central time.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also follow Christian Borman on Twitter @christianborman. 

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we have become one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets focused on giving a voice to the fans!