Reath: Boomers can beat anyone

Duop Reath has experienced a meteoric rise in the world of basketball over the past 12 months. From playing in Lebanon, he earned a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers prior to the start of this season. Then, after impressing at the NBA level, he signed a three-year deal with the franchise.

Now, Reath looms as one of the key players in the Boomers’ quest for a second consecutive Olympic medal. The star big started at the 2023 FIBA World Cup following injury to Jock Landale and, despite Landale’s almost certain return, is set for a bigger role than he had in the 2021 Tokyo triumph.

Reath will enter the tournament off the back of 68 appearances – 20 starts – for the Blazers this past campaign, in which he averaged 9.1 points per game, and he believes if the Boomers can find their groove, they could be an unstoppable force in Paris.

“I feel like we go into this one like we have something to prove, and we want to get back on that stage again and podium,” Reath told SEN WA. “We feel like we’ve got the talent, and we can compete with these guys. When we play our brand of basketball it doesn’t matter who is on the court playing against us, we’re going to come out on top. Nobody can really play against us when it’s our brand of basketball.

“We want to get back to that because the World Cup didn’t go as planned. We were really disappointed with the results but that’s going to help us, that experience of knowing it’s time to get back to our brand of basketball and how we want to play.”

Despite being just 27 years old, few NBA opportunities tend to present themselves to players of Reath’s age who had never played in the Association before, however after playing in Serbia, the NBL, China and Lebanon, he was called into Portland’s NBA Summer League roster alongside the likes of former Next Star Rayan Rupert, and top two draft selection Scoot Henderson.

He earned a two-way contract with the club off the back of his performances, and thrived in a bench role behind former number one draft pick Deandre Ayton. Then, when Ayton suffered an injury during the season, Reath became a starter – and impressed so much there were calls he should remain in the starting five, even after Ayton’s return.

Now, he has a three-year deal with the side and looks set to be a crucial part of the impending rebuild following Portland’s 21-61 record this past season.

He says his long road to the NBA is a testament to how far hard work can take you.

“To be able to get rewarded for the work I’ve put in since I really started playing basketball, it’s a testimony to just keep working hard,” he said.

“Keep doing the right thing because you do get rewarded if you do keep working hard and doing the right thing at the end of the day."