Who is Carlik Jones? Meet the South Sudan basketball star who made history against the United States ahead of Paris 2024
South Sudan’s basketball team are on a meteoric rise at the minute, readying themselves for an Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Their formidable ascent almost resulted in a major statement by beating the United States on their pre-Games exhibition tour, with a singular point sepeating the two. Team USA prevailed 101-100..
Carlik Jones, their indispensable point guard, was the name making the headlines after the game, following his historic triple-double.
With 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, he is now the only player to have achieved such a feat against the USA.
The 26-year-old has come a long way from the player who went undrafted for the NBA in 2021, now playing in the EuroLeague for Serbian powerhouse Partizan.
He has had stints with several different sides, including 10-game contracts with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets.
Carlik Jones: Everybody’s journey is different
At 26, Jones’s senior career to date has been anything but straightforward.
From undrafted to the persistent changing of teams and environments each year, it can take its toll.
But he has learned to accept that as part of his own story without comparing it to others.
“I sometimes talk with family and friends asking ‘Why do I keep going through adversity? Why do I keep having to prove [myself] over and over when there is others who don’t?’,” he told WCPO 9.
“But it’s just how it is sometimes – you just have to keep grinding and fighting.
“Everybody’s route is different, everybody’s journey is different. It took me a few years to understand it, but this is my life and I enjoy it.
“Once you get that bit of recognition, it lets you know that you’re doing something right.”
On the global stage with his national teammates in Paris, it will provide the perfect opportunity for the Cincinnati native to show what he can do.
And while it’s a ‘huge blessing’ and opportunity to be at the Olympics, Jones is just focused on approaching it the same as he normally would.
“Stay in the gym, work hard, be humble – but also be hungry,” he added.
Carlik Jones: We’re putting South Sudan on the map
Jones’s ascendancy to one of South Sudan’s brightest hopes really kicked into gear last year, when he was selected for the national team for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
His competition debut consisted of 35 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, making him the first player in 30 years to achieve a double-double in the tournament's history.
Placing 17th in the final standings was enough to secure the African nation a berth at the Olympics, marking another first for them.
On what their incredible rise means to them, Jones said: “It’s bigger than just us and bigger than basketball – we have a country we’re fighting for… to put our country on the map, it’s huge.
“South Sudan is slept on, its people are slept on, and we as a unit are slept on.
“We are just trying to put South Sudan on the map and let people know who we are.”
Jones will have the chance to repeat his aforementioned triple-double in Paris, when his side faces the United States at the Olympics on 31 July.