The United States men’s basketball team has been set for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. As mentioned by CBS Sports, 12 players have committed to representing the squad. Some of the notable players on the roster are Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum.
Along with those three, Team USA features Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jerami Grant, Draymond Green, Jrue Holiday, Zach LaVine, Kevin Love and Khris Middleton. James Harden originally committed to play for the team but withdrew his name due to an injury, according to The Athletic. Other players to decline are LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis and Steph Curry among others.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The 2021 Team USA Basketball Roster has finally been set🇺🇸
– Kevin Durant
— NBA Central (@TheNBACen) June 24, 2021
– Damian Lillard
– Zach Lavine
– Devin Booker
– Jrue Holiday
– Bradley Beal
– Khris Middleton
– Kevin Love
– Jayson Tatum
– Bam adebayo
– Grant Williams
– Jerami Grant pic.twitter.com/jZ8TyJjfsh
The last time fans saw Team USA in action was the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The team finished seventh after losing to France in the quarterfinals, and Spain ended up winning the tournament. The roster for that team included Middleton, Tatum, Brook Lopez and Kemba Walker.
Despite the disappointing performance, Team USA has had its share of success in the Olympics. Since 1992, the squad has won six gold medals in the Summer Olympics while earning a bronze medal in 2004. The 2016 team won the gold medal with players such as Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
One NBA superstar who has never played in the Olympics is Curry. Back in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, Curry said he was going to play in the Tokyo Olympics. However, that was before the games were delayed for another year.
“Definitely wanna go,” Curry said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols at the time. “I’ve never been on the Olympic team. I’ve been on two World Cup championship gold-medal teams. But the Olympics is the experience that I want. And next year will hopefully be it.”
The 2021 Tokyo Olympics will start on July 23 and will end on August 8. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach Team USA with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will be part of the coaching staff the other assistant coaches are Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr, Villanova’s Jay Wright and former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce.
