NBA stars serious about joining US Olympics team
Last week, USA Basketball named its finalists for the men’s 2024 Paris Olympics basketball team.
Forty-one names were on the list, and major names who didn’t play in the last Olympics were named: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Paul George.
USA Totday Sports has learned that every name on the list is serious about going to Paris, and the biggest names have had conversations about playing together for US coach Steve Kerr in the summer. Names were not on the list for appearances or out of respect.
If the 1992 US men’s Olympic basketball team was the Dream Team and the 2008 squad the Redeem Team, then the 2024 roster might be the Supreme Team.
The 2024 team has the potential to be the most star-studded US men’s Olympic roster since the Dream Team − filled with MVPs, Finals MVPs, All-NBA players and future Hall of Famers.
It is a who’s who of US stars, and a slight departure from the past two US men’s Olympics teams − even though they won gold in Rio and Tokyo.
Compared to the past two Summer Olympics, more bigname stars appear eager to play in Paris. Why? A confluence of reasons flowed into the River Seine.
It’s in Paris, and who doesn’t want to spend time in Paris going after a gold medal in the summer?
Several stars, including James, Durant and Curry, view this as likely their last chance to play in the Olympics. James will be 43 years old, Curry 40 and Durant 39 and fast approaching 40 when the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics arrive.
Curry has never played in the Olympics, and it will be a chance for him to play for his Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is the head coach of the US men’s team in Paris. Leonard would also be making his Olympic debut.
There is the realization that they can form another team that rivals the Dream Team or Redeem Team, and there is excitement among players in that prospect. With James, Curry, Durant, Leonard, Embiid and Harden, they account for nine NBA MVPs, nine Finals MVPs and six Olympic gold medals, and Adebayo, Booker, Holiday, Lillard, Tatum, Butler, Irving, George, Davis and Paul have also won Olympic gold.
The US would like to re-establish their dominance on the global scene and show that while the world has made up ground, it hasn’t caught up to the best Americans. Though the US has won the past four Olympic men’s basketball gold medals, it finished a medal-less fourth at the 2021 FIBA World Cup.
With so many stars on the list, USA Basketball men’s national team managing director Grant Hill has a difficult job. Who form the right 12 to win a fifth consecutive Olympic men’s basketball gold medal?
Crcumstances − such as an injury, family commitments or contractual issues for a player − may narrow the list of finalists and help Hill. But even then, it will be tough to exclude many of the finalists.
Important and difficult decisions coming for Grant Hill.
(USA Today/TNS)