Basketball On The Internet.

THE risk in labelling our Boomers team for Rio as our “greatest ever” is the fact they haven’t done anything yet.

Australia has contested the men’s basketball section of the Olympics 13 times and has put together some fairly impressive teams, none of which have medalled.

And it has had a quartet of players – Eddie Palubinskas, Ian Davies, Andrew Gaze and Patty Mills – who have led the Olympic Games in scoring.

EDDIE P: Eddie Palubinskas could play a bit.

So when Basketball Australia, publicising its upcoming “farewell series” for the national team against the Pac-12 All Stars in the Rio leadup, describes its Boomers as: “arguably the greatest team Australian basketball has ever assembled” it is disrespecting a lot of its own history.

Take that 1988 team which went to Seoul and included three young bucks with extraordinary potential named Luc Longley, Mark Bradtke and Andrew Vlahov.

They joined a few of our all-time greatest players such as Phil Smyth, Andrew Gaze and Ray Borner and made it to the Bronze Medal playoff.

Not bad.

THE HOF: Andrew Vlahov had a clue too.

In Atlanta in 1996, Gaze, Bradtke, Vlahov and Borner were all back, along with “the athlete” Sam Mackinnon, the monster John Dorge, the man who made “the shot” – Tony Ronaldson – not to mention Shane Heal.

Those guys did pretty well too, making it to the Bronze Medal playoff game.

Four years later in Sydney, after Gaze’s contribution to Australian sport was acknowledged by his installation as our flag-bearer, the Boomers again fielded a fairly decent side.

After Gaze, there was Bradtke, Longley and Vlahov for one last time, Heal and Mackinnon were back, Chris Anstey was there and so too Paul Rogers and a naturalised Ricky Grace.

Once again, we were back to the medal rounds and beaten for Bronze by our arch international rival, Lithuania.

THE LATE, GREAT: Ian Davies led the Olympics in scoring.

David Andersen and Andrew Bogut debuted in 2004, with CJ Bruton, Matt Nielsen, Brett Maher back for his third Olympics, Jason Smith and Martin Cattalini back for their second.

Start rolling in Anstey, Andersen, Bogut, Bruton, Neilsen, Glen Saville back for his second Games, and add Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Brad Newley and Mark Worthington for Beijing and no-one would say they were lacking.

In London, there was Patty and Joe, and Delly and Baynes, plus a holy host of others. So throw the "greatest" tag around advisedly.

“The proof will be in the pudding, if we do better than fourth or fifth,” Boomers assistant coach Longley said, Australia’s Olympic best still fourth, its FIBA World Cup best fifth.

“It’s as simple as that.”

On the eve of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, featuring Andrew Bogut’s Warriors and Matthew Dellavedova’s Cavaliers, it is easy to get carried away.

Bogut won a ring last year with Golden State, Mills and Aron Baynes held the Larry O’Brien Trophy 12 months earlier with San Antonio.

Ingles is a recent Euroleague champion and playing NBA at Utah.

On paper, the team Australia is likely to assemble will boast some incredible talent and depth.

It has a stated goal of coming home from Rio with a medal and it certainly needs to by the way Government funding will be distributed post-Games.

We all support that stated goal but right now, it is just that - a pinnacle for which our team will strive.

All of us hope they can achieve it.

But until the Boomers complete Rio with our 12 men standing on a medal dais, BA perhaps should keep an eye on what it's PR boys and girls are throwing our way.