NBA stars serious about joining US men's basketball team for 2024 Paris Olympics
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 TODAY 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 U.S. coach Steve Kerr in the summer. Names were not on the list for appearances or out of respect.
Multiple people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about players’ plans.
If the 1992 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. stars, and a slight departure from the past two U.S. men’s Olympics teams − even though they won gold in Rio and Tokyo.
Let’s take a look at who could be on the team and why:
Who are the 41 Team USA finalists?
Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Jimmy Butler, Alex Caruso, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, De’Aaron Fox, Paul George, Aaron Gordon, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Jrue Holiday, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., LeBron James, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Trae Young.
Why do so many big-name NBA stars want to play?
Compared to the past two Summer Olympics, more big-name 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. has won the past four Olympic men’s basketball gold medals, it finished a medal-less fourth at the 2021 FIBA World Cup.
Who will be on the 12-man US Olympic men's basketball roster?
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?
Circumstances − 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.
But going with James, Durant, Curry, Embiid, Tatum, Leonard, Davis, Booker, Butler and Lillard is a good start. However, that leaves just two spots on a team heavy with wings and guards.
Where does that leave Adebayo, Mitchell, Edwards, Brown, Irving, Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox, Banchero − or even a player like Chris Paul who was instrumental in getting the U.S. back to gold at the 2008 Beijing following the debacle at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
What else does the US need to win gold?
Hill and Kerr know they didn’t have the necessary size in last summer’s FIBA World Cup. Lithuania, led by bruising 6-foot-11 center Jonas Valanciunas, outrebounded the U.S. 43-27; center Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 16 rebounds in Montenegro’s loss to the U.S.; Germany’s Daniel Theis had 21 points and seven rebounds in a U.S. loss.
Even if Embiid and Davis play − and especially if one or both don’t play − in Paris, big men are required, no matter how impressive and deep the guard and wing positions are. Adebayo, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jarrett Allen and Walker Kessler should be part of the conversation.
The U.S. will run into size at some point − Serbia’s Nikola Jokic; France’s Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama; Germany’s Theis, Mo Wagner and Johannes Voigtmann; and Valanciunas and Vucevic, if Lithuania and/or Montenegro qualifies. Will it have the bodies to combat it?
Important and difficult decisions coming for Grant Hill.
