The United States Basketball Federation (USA Basketball) released on Tuesday (23) a pre-list with 41 players to compete in the Paris Olympics. The list includes the main NBA stars, such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant.
++ Joel Embiid reaches historic milestone in Philadelphia 76ers NBA victory
As a result, only 12 will be chosen to represent the USA at the Olympics. In addition to the quartet, two other names are considered certain to be selected, according to the website “The Athletic”: Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker.
It is worth remembering that Joel Embiid, current NBA MVP, decided to play for the United States, despite having two other citizenships: Cameroonian and French. He was born in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, but moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a career in basketball.
Furthermore, the main NBA stars had already shown interest in playing in the Olympics right after the United States’ poor campaign in the last Basketball World Cup, in 2023. The team only came in fourth place in the tournament, with a squad with few stars.
++ Jokic scores 42 points and hears “MVP” chants in Washington
The US team will be led by Steve Kerr, current coach of the Golden State Warriors. He will have two other NBA coaches as assistants: Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat).
Below is the United States pre-list for the Olympics:
Point Guard: Desmond Bane, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Alex Caruso, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Jrue Holiday, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Austin Reaves, Derrick White e Trae Young;
Small/Power Forward: Paolo Banchero, Scottie Barnes, Mikal Bridges, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ingram, LeBron James, Cam Johnson, Kawhi Leonard, Bobby Portis, Duncan Robinson e Jayson Tatum;
Center: Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Chet Holmgren, Jaren Jackson Jr. e Walker Kessler.
Make sure to like our Facebook and Instagram pages for more M5PORTS news.
