The U.S. has selected its 12-player roster, led by Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, that will try to win the Americans’ third straight Olympic basketball gold medal.
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USA Basketball unveiled the final 12-man roster for the team in its quest for a third consecutive gold medal.
Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving and Golden State’s Harrison Barnes were the final two players to accept invitations. Other big names like Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and James Harden also chose to pass on a chance to play in Rio.
Team USA will add four more exhibition games around the country, beginning with a July 24 game against China at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and another on July 26 against China at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
As for his National Basketball Association future, Durant has meetings scheduled with at least six teams, ESPN reported.
Irving will be the sixth former Duke men’s basketball player to represent the U.S.in the Olympic Games, joining Tate Armstrong (1976), Carlos Boozer (2004 and 2008), Grant Hill (1996), Christian Laettner (1992) and Jeff Mullins (1964). Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who becomes the NBA’s most prominent unrestricted free agent on July 1, is especially unstoppable in worldwide competitions.
It would be easy to use those high-profile absences as reason to pay less attention to Team USA when they start the Olympic tournament.
“I think I can speak for the entire coaching staff and say we’re extremely excited about the team we will field for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro”, team managing director Jerry Colangelo said.
In Rio Cousins will look to join nine other former Wildcats who have won Olympic gold for the U.S. Davis is the most recent player to join that list, in 2012. “We have lightning-quick guards who can score and distribute the basketball”.
Since professionals were first allowed to compete in 1992, the U.S. has been denied gold just once, in 2004 where they claimed bronze.
The Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5 to 21. Spain will likely be the biggest threat to the US chances for Gold.
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For Team USA, anything less than a Gold medal would be considered a failure.
