LeBron, Durant, Curry, Davis: USA Basketball Names Roster For Paris Olympics

By Barry Janoff

April 17, 2024: USA Basketball has its eye on the prize: Gold at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

USA Basketball today officially named the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team, led by a “new Dream Team” roster including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and  Kawhi Leonard.

“The goal is to win the gold,” Grant Hill, USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director, said during a media conference call following the naming of the squad. “They know that.”

The roster features players with a combined 11 Olympic appearances, ten Olympic gold medals and three FIBA World Cup titles. There are 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions.

The 2024 USA Men’s National Team includes (in alphabetical order): Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).

The 2024 USA Men’s National Team will be led by head coach Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), assisted by Mark Few (Gonzaga University), Tyronn Lue (L.A. Clippers) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat).

USA Basketball will compete for its fifth consecutive gold medal and 17th overall.

The team —  selected by Hill and approved by the USA Basketball board of directors — was officially named with 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony in Paris. It came as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is hosting a weeklong event in New York commemorating the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony 100 days out.

“There will be a lot of interest and a lot of people who will want to be along for this incredible journey we’re about to be on,” said Hill. “So if we know, why wait?

"We didn't necessarily plan it that way (to name the team today), but we knew this was the team that we wanted and we also know that there'll be a lot of interest and a lot of people who will want to be along for this incredible journey we're about to be on.”

Three-time Olympic champion Durant (2012, 2016, 2020, played in 2021 due to the pandemic) is the USA’s all-time Olympic statistical leader in total points (435), scoring average (19.8 ppg), field goals (146), 3-point field goals (74) and free throws (69).

James will seek a fourth medal, after winning bronze in 2004 and golds in 2008 and 2012. The other past gold medalists on the roster are Davis (2012), Adebayo (2020), Booker (2020), Tatum (2020) and Holiday (2020).

Curry will make his Olympic debut this summer. Embiid and Leonard will make their USA Basketball national team debuts when the U.S. hosts Canada, scheduled for July 10 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena to open the USA Basketball Showcase.

Hill and USA Basketball said the extended time-span until the Games also gives them options should changes need to be made.

"We have shown in years past that we've had to make changes, and we do have time in the event that something unforeseen were to happen, that we have a contingency plan and we have that at every position," Hill said during the media conference.

"We hope that doesn't happen. But you think back to (when the Tokyo Olympics were moved to) 2021, that was the case. And I think, going through this process, you have to learn to expect at times the unexpected, be able to adapt and adjust.

"So as we've gone through this process, we've kept that in mind and we know that the playoffs are up and coming and things can happen. And so we're well aware of that, and we're prepared in the event that, for whatever reason, if someone were not to be able to play, that we have some other options as well."

According to Hill, “They will hear from us over the course of the next few months. And I think that's important, getting that out the way, letting these guys now focus on their NBA post-seasons and not have the worry or the burdensome of how all of this will play out.”

“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."

The USA officially qualified for the Paris Games as one of the top two nations from the FIBA Americas zone at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in September.

As part of Group C, the U.S. will face Serbia on July 28, South Sudan on July 31 and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico on Aug. 3 in the first round of the Olympic tournament.

NBC Sports said today that Noah Eagle will be the play-by-play voice for USA Basketball's men's games, women's games and the medal rounds at this summer's Paris Olympics.

USA Basketball is scheduled to start training camp July 6 in Las Vegas.

Following the game vs. Canada, they will embark on an international training scheduled to see the USA host Australia and Serbia on July 15 and 17, respectively, in Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

“We have the utmost respect for the level of competition we will face this summer,” said Hill.

“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.

"We know we feel really good about this team."

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