Andrew Bogut has declared it will be “very hard” for the Australian Boomers to claim a medal at the Paris Olympics, due to the “pool of death” they need to compete in.

Speaking on the first episode of NBL Media’s The Gold Standard, Bogut laid out his concerns for the Boomers as they look to follow-up their historic bronze medal winning Tokyo Olympic campaign.

The Gold Standard, featuring Australian basketball legends Bogut and Brad Newley, will headline NBL Media’s Olympic coverage. The duo will analyse the Boomers’ on-court performance, while also breaking down all the latest news from the squad in the lead-up to the Olympics and during the tournament. The next episode will be available on July 16, after Australia faces the USA in a warm-up game in Abu Dhabi.

“I think realistically talking, I think the podium is going to be very hard, if we’re being honest,” Bogut said.

“We’ve got the pool of death and people aren’t talking about that. We’ve got a pool that’s going to get two qualifiers from Europe. On top of that, we have Canada.

“The Olympics now have gone to three pools of four … the top two go through. Then there’s another two that go through. It’s the best two placed third placed teams. We don’t have a percentage booster team in our pool.

“That’s a huge concern for me. Even if we get a win or two or whatever it is, our percentage isn’t going to be as great. We have to aim at winning two out of three of those games.

“If we get that third spot, we’re leaving it up to chance and the percentages of chance are not in our favour. I think it’s going to be really tough. I think podium would be amazing. If we get on the podium out of this pool, that’s an amazing run, but I think it’s going to be tough, very, very tough to get through.”

Bogut is a three-time Olympian, having represented the Boomers in 2004, 2008 and 2016. Newley has also been on the biggest stage, playing for Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

The Gold Standard is available on all of the NBL’s digital channels.