Non-Patented, Non-Analytical Selection Strategy:
- Review the roster for 2024 Olympic squad and Select Team versus the team I chose in January 2024
- Review my eligibility requirements for roster spots
- Create list of top international opponents to keep in mind when constructing the roster
- Review top American NBA prospects, college prospects and high school prospects
- Separate out vet players who will be retired or not reliable to pick due to health concerns
- Choose the top 12 players for the roster, listing top alternates by position
- List the top candidates who don’t quite make the cut but will be ‘on call’ should injuries arise
2024 Team USA Roster for the Paris Olympics:
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- Bam Adebayo
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- Joel Embiid
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- Anthony Davis
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- LeBron James
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- Kevin Durant
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- Jayson Tatum
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- Jrue Holiday
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- Anthony Edwards
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- Derrick White
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- Steph Curry
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- Devin Booker
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- Tyrese Halliburton
2024 Team USA Select Team:
- Cooper Flagg
- Jalen Duren
- Jabari Smith Jr.
- Trey Murphy
- Keegan Murray
- Brandon Miller
- Brandin Podziemski
- Payton Pritchard
- Jalen Suggs
- Amen Thompson
My Paris Roster Picks in January 2024:
- Joel Embiid
- Bam Adebayo
- Jayson Tatum
- Kevin Durant
- Paul George
- LeBron James
- (one of) Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, or Jimmy Butler
- Steph Curry
- Anthony Edwards
- Kyrie Irving
- Tyrese Haliburton
(My) Eligibility Requirements for Team USA roster:
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- Combination of size, strength, athleticism, shooting, and positional versatility
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- Clutch genes for crunch time heroics (break glass if needed)
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- High basketball IQ to be able to thrive with other players in Steve Kerr’s system
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- Two-way players only (whenever possible)
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- Healthy mix of battle-tested veterans and up-and-coming stars
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- NBA championship AND Olympic (or Team USA) gold-medal winning experience
International opponents to keep in mind when constructing the Team USA roster:
France: Victor Wembanyama, Alex Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Bilal Coulibaly and Nolan Traore
Canada: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Zach Edey, Benn Mathurin, and RJ Barrett
Serbia: Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic
Germany: Franz and Mo Wagner, and Dennis Schroder
Greece: Giannis Antetekounmpo
Slovenia: Luka Doncic
Cameroon: Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam
Retired, Almost-Retired or Not Healthy Enough to Play:
- Ja Morant – always worried about his health due to his small frame and high-flying drives to the hoo–and for the time being it’s hard not to be worried about his maturity level.
- Jalen Brunson/Mikal Bridges – after the next four years of 90-100 games per year at 42-48 minutes per game playing for Tom Thibodeau, I highly doubt that either of these two will be up for playing in LA, assuming they are even healthy enough to consider.
- Kevin Durant – could opt to play at age 39
- Steph Curry – could opt to play at age 40–that other-wordly shooting will not go away with age.
- Anthony Davis – could opt to play at age 35, especially since it will be in front of LA fans
- LeBron James – assuming he’s retired in 2 years.
- Klay Thompson
- Draymond Green
- DeMar DeRozan
- Kawhi Leonard
- James Harden
- Jimmy Butler
- Kyrie Irving
- Damian Lillard
- Bradley Beal
- Paul George
- Donovan Mitchell
Not a Great Fit for International Play:
- Jaylen Brown – his annoyance and now resentment of Team USA and Grant Hill may be just as well, because his game doesn’t translate so well to international play with less spacing.
- Trae Young – too defensively challenged to be a part of this team, even though we all know (and enjoy) his offensive gifts.
- Evan Mobley – unfortunately, bigs who are non-shooters are not worth considering since they’ll ruin our spacing. His shot may improve as soon as this year, but I can’t guarantee that and would definitely opt for Chet and Bam.
- Scottie Barnes – it’s tough for him to have an impact with less spacing and I don’t trust his shooting as much as some do. His playmaking is solid and I do love that length on D, but will have to pass.
Team USA Roster for the 2028 Olympics:
BIGS
[Disclaimer: if Anthony Davis (35) or Joel Embiid (34) wants to play then one of them can replace either Flagg or Dybantsa. Odds of the two vets both being healthy and willing to play in 2028 are slim)
Bam Adebayo (31) – veteran big who can guard inside and out with an evolving jumper, high motor and a ferocious edge on the boards. Will be undersized at times but besides facing Jokic, Team USA should be able to work around that.
Chet Holmgren (26) – versatile big who can protect the rim, shoot from the outside, rebound, and make it tough on Wemby when we face off against France. Will be battle-tested in the playoffs over the next few years of Thunder playoff basketball.
(Alternates: Donovan Clingan, Derek Lively: tough choices here, as Clingan would help provide elite rim protection, set big screens, and guard guys like Jokic with some success. I’m banking on this team successfully utilizing Tatum, Banchero and Flagg as centers, as needed.)
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WINGS
[Disclaimer: if Kevin Durant (39) wants to play then he can replace Flagg or Dybantsa)
Jayson Tatum (30) – left the 2024 Olympics with a bad taste in his mouth after not getting much PT from Steve Kerr, but will be a headliner of this team which will make it tough to turn down the invitation. Plus, Spoelstra will take over so it won’t feel like a repeat of Paris. Tatum can play on or off the ball and is an elite defender and rebounder with legit strength. Has positional versatility to play center.
Paolo Banchero (25) – elite offensive game that will keep evolving and could be almost unstoppable in four years. Will be battle-tested in the playoffs over the next few years of Magic playoff basketball. Has positional versatility to play center.
Jalen “J-Dub” Williams (27) – perfect connective piece for this team who can do a little of everything on or off the ball. Valuable offensive versatility will be valuable too, as he can play point guard or wing and guard 1 through 4. Will be battle-tested in the playoffs over the next few years of Thunder playoff basketball.
Cooper Flagg (21) – consensus #1 pick in 2024 draft, USA basketball experience, super high motor with KG-level intensity, elite defender with an evolving offensive game. Too early for him to be included? Yes. But….he’s just too good to exclude. He can be one of the two guys who play 5-10 minutes a game for a spark of energy and athleticism–plus he provides optionality at center.
AJ Dybantsa (21) – consensus #1 pick in 2025 draft, with USA basketball experience, incredible athleticism. Can play on or off the ball, with excellent shot creation, and is an underrated defender with both speed and length. Too early for him to be included? Yes. But….he is also too good to exclude. He can be one of the two guys who play 5-10 minutes a game for a spark of energy and athleticism.
Note: remember too, there is a precedent for Team USA adding generational talents to the roster–see LeBron (19) in 2004. They have also added very young but uber-talented and physically gifted lottery picks in past years, such as: 1996 team: Grant Hill (23); 2000 team: Vince Carter (23); 2004 team: Carmelo (20); 2008 team: Dwight Howard (22); 2012 team: Anthony Davis (19), Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (23), James Harden (22); 2021: Jayson Tatum (23).
Trey Murphy (28) – underrated defender with great length, and a knock-down three point shooter. Perfect off-the-ball scorer for this group who will help to open up space for everyone else.
(Alternates: Jabari Smith Jr., Brandon Miller, : Jabari should be really good by 2028 and would be an excellent swiss army knife type of guy who could thrive in international play. Miller will be tough to stop in 2028 but seems duplicative with Tatum and Banchero who win out due to seniority.)
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GUARDS
[Disclaimer: if Steph Curry (40) wants to play then he can replace LaMelo)
Devin Booker (31) – no-brainer to invite him back and let him step up as more of a primary scorer. He’s highly skilled, feisty on D and will be ready to lead the way to another gold.
Anthony Edwards (27) – automatic invite as Ant should be one of the top five players in the league by 2028. Letting him go to work along with Booker, Tatum and Banchero should give this team plenty of offensive creation.
Cade Cunningham (26) – I had a real tough time choosing between Cade and Haliburton, but in the end, I think Cade will hold up better on D, provide more leadership and a calming presence in the half court offense, and also can perform in the clutch. He is a do-it-all player that can be slotted into the same role as LeBron played in Paris–as a big point guard who is focused on making others better.
LaMelo Ball (26) – everyone seems to have forgotten about Ball, but if he can stay healthy and the revamped Hornets ownership/front office can create something stable and functional then he’s going to seem a lot more attractive in 3-4 years. Yes, Haliburton, Fox, Morant, or Brunson may seem better today, but from that group, only Ball and Hali are true point guards. Plus, LaMelo has more size and is more dynamic than Hali. He’ll make everyone else better while giving the team scoring, as needed. This team needs to defend, rebound and get out in transition and Ball could make them unstoppable on the break. Is he good enough on D? He can hold up when he chooses to.
(Alternates: Tyrese Haliburton (28), Jalen Suggs, Reed Sheppard, Desmond Bane, Amen Thompson: Very tough choices for guards. I came so close to choosing Haliburton over LaMelo, as I feel like he brings great energy to a team and can hit shots and make others better. But, I opted for the riskier LaMelo. Both LaMelo and Hali get injured quite a bit, so in the end, it may come down to who has had a better run of health leading up to the LA Games. One of Sheppard, Bane or Suggs may be a better option as a a two-way player that could provide lock down on-ball D a la Jrue Holiday/Derrick White in 2024. If Amen’s shot comes around he may be too hard to pass up.
Not going to make the cut….but should keep their schedule clear and bags packed just in case the phone rings last minute:
- Donovan Clingan
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Dereck Lively
- Jabari Smith Jr.
- Jalen Johnson
- Cameron Boozer
- Koa Peet
- Jaime Jaquez Jr.
- Brandon Miller
- Keegan Murray
- Devin Vassell
- Jalen Suggs
- Desmond Bane
- Austin Reaves
- Brandin Podziemski
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Dylan Harper
- Trent Perry
- Ausar and Amen Thompson
- De’Aaron Fox
- Darius Garland
- Tyrese Maxey
- Stephon Castle
- Reed Sheppard
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Other great 2028 Team USA roster selection consumables:
8/12 Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon
Predicting USA Basketball’s next Olympics men’s roster for 2028 Los Angeles Games – Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation
8/12 Jeff Goodman’s roster picks on Twitter
Can USA Basketball mend fences with Jayson Tatum, rely on younger talent for L.A. 2028? – Joe Vardon/The Athletic
Predicting the 2028 Olympic men’s basketball roster – Kevin Pelton/ESPN