As USA Basketball officials work to put together the final list of 12 NBA stars headed to the Paris Olympics this summer, a picture of who will be on the team is beginning to emerge.
USA Basketball's recent discussions with stakeholders include Boston Celtics star guard, Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion Jrue Holiday, Phoenix Suns All-NBA guard and Olympic gold medalist Devin Booker, along with Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum are mentioned as the expected core of the team barring injuries, multiple NBA sources and sources close to the American team told The Athletic.
At least some of them have already begun initial planning and public engagements related to their Olympic participation, sources said. Several U.S. officials said Wednesday that the final Olympic roster had not yet been determined.
In addition to the seven bona fide heavyweights listed above, budding superstars Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, two members of the U.S. 2023 World Cup team, are also in focus for the Paris Games, according to the same sources. Edwards and Haliburton were two of the Americans' top players last summer, on a team that finished a disappointing fourth place at the World Cup in Manila.
If all nine of these players were added to the USA roster, there would be three players left to choose from. Only Embiid is a “traditional” big man (in the modern sense of the position – he shoots 37 percent from 3-point range as a 7-footer), so the Americans would need to add more size. Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers are also considered strong candidates for the roster, and Davis said during All-Star weekend that he would play for the Americans if asked.
James, who is 6-foot-10 and still runs the field like a freight train on offense but weighs more than 260 pounds, could also play the 4 in a lineup with Durant and/or Tatum on the wings.
Team USA, the four-time Olympic gold medalists in men's basketball, is aiming to announce its roster for Paris sometime in the early rounds of the NBA playoffs, in late April or May. There is still one major caveat to any player deemed suspended – that player's health status at the time of the announcement and then when training camp begins in early July. This is one of the main reasons why the American team last month released a list of 41 players from which the final team will be selected. If someone is injured or withdraws, Team USA can work with potential replacements.
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U.S. officials — led by general manager Grant Hill and Sean Ford, who oversees day-to-day operations of the men's national team, as well as coach Steve Kerr — are still banking on Embiid, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus earlier this month, which could come before the end return to the 76ers lineup for the regular season. Embiid's plans to represent Team USA at the Olympics remain, a source said.
Highly decorated American Olympic veterans Durant and James have publicly expressed their commitment to the Paris Olympics, and USAB simply couldn't keep them off the team if they wanted to play. Curry, who has never competed in the Olympics, wants this year and his team (coached by Kerr, his longtime coach with the Warriors) to make his debut.
Team USA has pursued Holiday for much of the NBA season, and Holiday has made his commitment to USAB officials in recent weeks, sources said. Team officials appreciated Holiday's two-way ability, point-of-attack defense and dynamic playmaking. Holiday was considered Team USA's second most important player behind Durant at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
The draw to see who the Americans will play in the opening round of the Olympic tournament in Lille, France, will take place on March 19.
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(Photo: Winslow Townson / USA Today)