USA Basketball is expected to announce the pool of NBA players who will compete to be on the 2024 Men’s National Team in Paris. Roughly 30 players will be in contention for Team USA’s 2024 Olympic roster and the organization won’t cut down the final roster to 12 players until after the 2023-24 NBA season.
As we await the 33rd Summer Olympics Games, let’s examine which NBA players are likely to suit up for USA Basketball:
Top Contenders For Team USA’s Roster
Numerous NBA players have made it known that they would love the opportunity to play for the United States Men’s National Team this summer.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bam Adebayo are among those who have declared that they will participate in the upcoming Olympics. The trio helped Team USA capture the gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics.
Joel Embiid had previously taken steps toward playing for the French National Team and he was deciding between France, Cameroon, and the United States before committing to USA Basketball in 2023. Once Embiid declared his intentions, it left some to wonder what that meant for Adabayo, though reports immediately surfaced that Adebayo would be assured a spot on the roster.
Adebayo’s USA Basketball resume dates back to 2012 when he attended the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s Development National Team minicamp and he’s expected to add to his resume in Paris.
Stephen Curry, who has represented USA Basketball in a pair of gold-medal FIBA World Cup runs, has expressed interest in contributing to Team USA at the Paris Olympics on multiple occasions. Current Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will lead Team USA for his first Olympics run as a head coach this summer.
There were reports that USA Basketball wanted Jrue Holiday to return to the team for the run in Paris. Holiday was crucial in the team’s gold medal run in Tokyo as was Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green. All three are candidates to play in 2024.
Suns Could Send Three Players
USA Basketball has traditionally emphasized some semblance of fit, familiarity, and chemistry among players as it builds its Olympic rosters. This is not an All-Star team; the goal is to build an Olympic gold medal team.
Durant and Booker are seemingly locks for the 2024 squad and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bradley Beal among the 30 or so players that USA Basketball announces will be in consideration. Beal was set to play for the organization during the Tokyo Olympics before COVID forced him to remain home.
Beal’s past involvement with Team USA along with him now playing alongside Durant and Booker, gives him an inside track on at least being included in the pool of candidates.
If Beal is included in the final roster heading to Paris, it wouldn’t be the first time that three members of an NBA team’s roster represented the United States in the Olympics.
Two of the past three USA Basketball Olympic Teams had three players from the same NBA team, though in both cases the trio didn’t play together the following season.
- Back in 2012, the Thunder sent Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden to the London Olympics, though those games were the last time the three were on the same team together as the organization traded Harden shortly after.
- In 2016, three incumbent Warriors played alongside each other in the Olympics, though the Rio Summer Games occurred right after Durant signed with Golden State and Harrison Barnes departed for Dallas.
USA Basketball had rostered three Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart) during the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The 2019 squad also featured Kemba Walker, who was traded (sign-and-trade) to Boston earlier that summer.
In normal circumstances, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics might have continued the trend of USA Basketball bringing along players who had strong familiarity with each other. However, the COVID pandemic forced the Olympic Games to be delayed by a year, resulting in the summer event finding itself sandwiched between two condensed NBA seasons which impacted player participation.
What About LeBron?
LeBron James indicated that he’s interested in playing.
James’ interest is different than a commitment, which is particularly noteworthy for someone who turned 39 years old in December and publicly contemplated retirement last spring.
James hasn’t participated in international games with the U.S. National Team since the 2012 Olympics when he joined Michael Jordan as the only player to win an NBA MVP award, NBA Championship, NBA Finals MVP, and Olympic gold medal in the same year.
There were rumors that James was spearheading a group with Stephen Curry and Durant behind the scenes this past summer. It’s hard to imagine that the four-time NBA MVP won’t make the team if he’s able to commit
Other NBA Players Vying For Spots
- Anthony Davis
- Mikal Bridges
- Khris Middleton
- Kawhi Leonard
- Aaron Gordon
- Fred VanVleet
- Jaylen Brown
- Fred VanVleet
- DeMar DeRozan
- Donovan Mitchell
- Zach LaVine
- Julius Randle
Prior to the season, Anthony Davis said he would play in 2024 if asked. The 8-time All-Star won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 before he ever played in an NBA game and he helped Team USA bring home the gold during the 2014 FIBA World Cup, though he hasn’t been able to participate in international play since because of a variety of injuries.
Khris Middleton also said he would play in 2024 if asked. The 3-time All-Star has an Olympic gold medal from the event in Tokyo. He turns 33 next summer and injuries limited him to just 33 games last NBA season, though he’s already surpassed that total this year.
Kawhi Leonard had plans to make his Olympic debut in Tokyo after being involved with USA Basketball for nearly a decade. However, Leonard was not selected to participate. After appearing in only 52 NBA games during the two seasons leading up to the 2023/24 campaign, Leonard has been relatively healthy for the Clippers this season, missing only a four-game stretch that overlapped with many people’s Christmas break.
Jaylen Brown, who participated with Team USA in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, said there would be “no greater honor” than to play in the Olympic games when asked about it during this year’s Celtics Media Day. Aaron Gordon said he would “love” to represent USA Basketball during the Nuggets Media Day. Fred VanVleet, DeMar DeRozan, Donovan Mitchell, Zach LaVine, and Julius Randle were among those who expressed interest in playing for the organization during their respective teams’ 2023 media days as well.
