What will the Team USA men’s basketball roster look like at the L.A. Olympics in 2028?

The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team won its fifth consecutive gold medal in Paris. For all the discussion about how the rest of the world has closed the gap on the birthplace of the sport, the Americans have lost once in an Olympics since 2004 — to France in Tokyo, a defeat they avenged.

The semifinals and championship game of these Olympics were no cakewalk. Come 2028, Serbia’s Nikola Jokić will still be at the tail end of his prime, assuming he does not retire to pursue horse racing full time, and Victor Wembanyama will be a 24-year-old on the precipice of Lord Knows What for the Frenchmen.

Gone (presumably) from Team USA’s roster will be LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, among other aging veterans, making room for the rolling waves of talent that have followed them into the NBA. Whether anyone reaches the heights of any of them is in serious question. What fun it was to see three of the greatest players in NBA history create for each other on a meaningful stage once more.

At the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, there will be a new generation of veterans, a new generation of alphas to challenge them and a new generation of fresh blood behind them. USA Basketball’s transition to its next era will open the door to other countries on the international stage, but this is the 12-man roster to deliver a sixth straight gold medal four years from now (like, in my current opinion, man) …

BALL-HANDLERS

Haliburton began his USA Basketball journey on the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup roster, eventually working his way up to the Select Team in 2021 and the national team in 2023. After winning his first Olympic gold medal this past weekend, the Pacers phenom perfectly summed up his experience in Paris on X:

While Haliburton rarely played for this edition of Team USA, he will be in the prime of his career — and presumably the best-passing guard alive — in 2028. He already led the league in assists per game (10.9) this past season, when he carried the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals ahead of schedule.

Brunson was left off this year’s Olympic team after participating in Team USA’s fourth-place finish…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-13 16:05:38

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