LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant will spearhead a star-studded United States Olympic basketball squad chasing a fifth straight gold medal at this summer’s Paris Games, officials announced Thursday (AEST).
USA Basketball confirmed a formidable 12-man roster bristling with NBA talent that also includes reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid along with Boston Celtics standouts Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.
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Los Angeles Lakers star James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, will be competing in his fourth Olympics after appearances at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Games.
Golden State star Curry — whose season came to an end on Tuesday when the Warriors were eliminated from the NBA play-in tournament — will be playing in his first Olympics.
Other star names in a squad which contains 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions include Phoenix’s Devin Booker, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton are also named.
It means there was no room for Knicks standout Jalen Brunson, who had one of the best seasons of all players in the Eastern Conference.
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Brunson closed his landmark NBA season with another Player of the Week honor after averaging 38.5 points over the final four games and was named the Eastern Conference player of the month for March.
“I’m grateful to these 12 men for their commitment to represent USA Basketball,” USA Basketball’s men’s national team managing director Grant Hill said.
“The United States is home to some of the best basketball players in the world and I appreciate the vast interest in being part of this roster. These decisions weren’t easy, but it was a pleasure to go through the process and reach this outcome.
“We have the utmost respect for the level of competition we will face this summer.
“The Olympics represent the pinnacle of sport and the world will be watching the USA as we play in the toughest basketball tournament in history.”
Embiid and Leonard will be making their US national team debuts when the squad plays in a pre-Olympic game against Canada in Las Vegas on July 10.
Golden State’s Steve Kerr has been named head coach, with assistants including Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, the Clippers’ Tyronn Lue and Gonzaga University’s Mark Few.
TEAM USA ROSTER
LeBron James (Lakers), Stephen Curry (Warriors), Kevin Durant (Suns), Joel Embiid (76ers), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Devin Booker (Suns), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Jrue Holiday (Celtics), Bam Adebayo (Heat), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Kahwi Leonard (Clippers)