PHILADELPHIA (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - There were players that did not reach the podium at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics that were still winners in the summer of 2016.

Dario Saric of Croatia was one of them.

Club commitments in Turkey with Anadolu Efes prevented the 22-year-old from showing up on time at the national team training camp ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin, yet he quickly got into the flow with the rest of the Croatia players and bore all the responsibilities coach Aco Petrovic placed on his broad shoulders.

Just as the veteran tactician had intended, Saric, Krunoslav Simon and Bojan Bogdanovic led an efficient offense.

Saric, a 2.07m forward, showed his versatility by even playing some point guard.

In Turin, he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game and was named the OQT's Most Valuable Player.

The competition was a little stiffer when he got to Rio but Saric couldn't stay out of the limelight, helping his team win in a myriad of ways.

In their very first game, Croatia had an opportunity to beat Spain, a team that had throttled them, 92-66, in Saric's first summer with the national team in the Semi-Finals of EuroBasket 2013.

"He's an NBA player, does great for the team. I'm sure he's going to do great there. He has a very good mentality. He's a winner." - Spain's Nikola Mirotic

With a 72-70 lead, Pau Gasol had the ball while being closely guarded by Darko Planinic and turned to shoot over him.

Saric, who had scored just 5 points, saw that the NBA superstar was going to have a chance to tie the game so he ran across the lane before jumping high and then swatting Gasol for the most famous block of his career.

He also put Croatia on the path to the Quarter-Finals with that victory over the No. 2 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men.

His numbers were eye-popping in the next game against Argentina. Saric finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists but the South Americans prevailed.

Saric was 3 assists shy of a triple-double against Argentina

Saric was also influential in Croatia's 80-76 win over Brazil in their next game, scoring 15 points and corralling 7 rebounds.

Croatia would go on to win Group B but then fall to Serbia in the Quarter-Finals, 86-83.

So how will Saric's game translate to the NBA? We're about to find out because after leading Croatia to the OQT triumph in Italy, he hopped on a plane for Philadelphia and put pen to paper on a contract with the Sixers.

Spain's Nikola Mirotic, who faced Saric in the first Olympic Games for both players, was in a similar situation to the Croatian when he left Real Madrid for the Chicago Bulls a couple of summers ago. He had a smooth transition to the league and thinks Saric will too.

"He didn't make many shots (against us) but he had a great game," Mirotic said to FIBA.com. "He's an NBA player, does great for the team. I'm sure he's going to do great there. He has a very good mentality. He's a winner. It was the first time that we played against each other. It was exciting to play against him, a very young, talented player. He's great. That's what I can say."

A player that has NBA experience who has played alongside Saric the past four summers with Croatia, veteran point guard Roko Ukic, knows making the switch to North America is a big step.

"I'm optimistic about his future," Ukic said to The Vertical. "Of course, he will need to develop as a player and get some stuff for the next level, be ready and grow up, but he's a 22-year-old kid. He's got a great mentality.

"Even the time things don't go great for him shooting-wise or offensively, he can bring so much different stuff to the table, so he can help the team in various ways."

FIBA