This summer in Paris, Team USA will be led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid.
The Athletic revealed on Monday that 11 of Team USA’s 12 players for the games have been finalized. The players locked up together have won 11 NBA titles and four MVPs between them, according to people close to the Athletic.
Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum are all dedicated to serving overseas.
The front court for the stars and stripes will be strengthened by big men Bam Adebayo and James’ Lakers running buddy, Anthony Davis.
The Knicks star point guard and MVP candidate Jalen Brunson is often mentioned, but fans are curious as to who will take the final position despite the team’s abundance of star power.
After joining the Orange and Blue last season, Brunson had an instant effect. Nevertheless, this year Brunson reached new heights with a fresh group of teammates, giving New York one of their best seasons in recent memory.
The former standout player for Villanova finished fourth and thirteenth in both categories with averages of 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, respectively.
With Brunson leading the way, the Knicks won their last five games handily, finishing 50-32 and securing the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
In addition to Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Paul George, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Jimmy Butler, several prominent players in the January player pool were revealed. Josh Hart, a teammate of Brunson’s with the Knicks, was another of the many guys chosen.
Even though Team USA had won gold in the last four Olympics, their defeat by Germany in the semifinals and by Canada in the third-place match served as a wake-up call when the NBA’s greatest stars chose not to play in the FIBA World Cup.
The only players who will compete in the World Cup and the Olympics are Edwards and Haliburton, a group that Brunson aspires to join.
The 2020 squad that won gold in Tokyo includes Booker, Durant, Adebayo, Holiday, and Tatum.