Grant Hill, the executive director of the USA Basketball men’s national team, faces a difficult task with so many players on the roster. Who is the right 12 to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in men’s basketball?
Injuries, family obligations, or contractual concerns for a player may reduce the number of finalists and benefit Hill. Even so, it will be difficult to exclude a large number of finalists.
However, choosing James, Durant, Curry, Embiid, Tatum, Leonard, Davis, Booker, Butler, and Lillard is a decent place to start. However, with a roster heavy on wings and guards, that leaves only two spots.
What happens to Adebayo, Mitchell, Edwards, Brown, Irving, Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox, Banchero, or even Chris Paul, who helped the US win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after the 2004 Athens Olympics?
What else does the US need to win gold?
Hill and Kerr are aware that they lacked the essential size at last summer’s FIBA World Cup. Lithuania, led by rugged 6-foot-11 center Jonas Valanciunas, outrebounded the United States 43-27; Montenegro’s Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 16 rebounds in a loss to the United States; and Germany’s Daniel Theis had 21 points and seven rebounds in a loss to the United States.
Big guys are needed in Paris, even if Embiid and Davis do not play. The guard and wing positions are remarkable and deep. Adebayo, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jarrett Allen, and Walker Kessler should be included in the discussion.
Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, France’s Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, Germany’s Theis, Mo Wagner and Johannes Voigtmann, and Valanciunas and Vucevic, if Lithuania and/or Montenegro qualify, will challenge the US at some time. Will it have the bodies to fight it?
Grant Hill will face difficult decisions.
