Miami Heat center Precious Achiuwa couldn’t find his way into Erik Spoelstra’s rotation during the regular season, but the rookie has been finding a way to make headlines this summer. The 20th overall pick put on a dominating defensive display for Team Nigeria in exhibition play on Saturday night.
Achiuwa scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds in 16 minutes, but his vicious rejection on Kevin Durant of Team USA helped turn the tide. Nigeria earned a shocking 90-87 win over the Americans in a pre-Olympic tune-up, with the Nigerians overcoming a 10-point deficit. Team USA had been 54-2 in exhibition play coming into the game.
Achiuwa’s highlight-reel block on Durant came with 1:23 left in the second quarter, with Nigeria trailing by four points. The 21-year-old climbed the ladder and literally knocked the Brooklyn Nets star to the ground on the way down. After the game, Achiuwa took to Instagram to rub it in: “You’re not that guy pal, trust me your not that guy.”
Heat guard Gabe Vincent paced Nigeria with a game-high 21 points while KZ Okpala was held scoreless in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo had 11 points and five rebounds for Team USA. Durant led the Americans with 17 points.
“In a way I’m kind of glad it happened,” Team USA coach Gregg Popovich said, via ESPN. “It means nothing if we don’t learn from it. It could be the most important thing in this tournament for us. To learn lessons from this.”
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Twitter Reacts to ‘Block of the Century’
Twitter was abuzz with reaction to what one Nigerian fan called the “Block of the Century” on Saturday night. The Durant block quickly went viral on social media.
Achiuwa didn’t see too many minutes last season for the Heat, but the 6-foot-8 big man still averaged 1.4 blocks per 36 minutes. He should see an uptick in playing time next year, especially after a strong Olympic showing.
Achiuwa Preached Defense on Draft Day
Miami knew they were getting a work in progress on the offensive end when they drafted Achiuwa in the first round. The Nigerian-born star averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks per game in his lone season at the University of Memphis en route to American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors.
His most impressive performance came during an overtime win against Tulane on Feb. 29 when he tallied a career-high 22 rebounds to go along with 22 points. Prior to the draft last spring, Achiuwa openly talked about how he could make an impact right away in the NBA. Defensive intensity was at the top of his list, coupled with “bringing a lot of energy.”
“I think defense is something I can bring right away on an NBA team, just watching the games and seeing how they’re picking on the weakest link on defense,” Achiuwa said, via Forbes. “I believe that’s one of my strengths and something I can bring to the table right away to an NBA team.”
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