Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James has yet to decide if he will join Team USA on the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics, however, USAB chairman Jerry Colangelo said that the player has a guaranteed spot in the team. James says hes not penciling it in, as of now, for next summer and that his decision may not come until after next season. The schedule crunch already has USA Basketball officials – mindful of the conflicting levels of interest among players, while also feeling pressure from several NBA owners who discourage participation because of possible injuries – discussing age limits for some of the competitions, though which ones are uncertain.
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Carmelo Anthony didn’t leave town without waxing eloquent about his Olympic reunion with LeBron James and Chris Paul at the Team USA minicamp. Colangelo did say that he has spoken to Bryant about it and that Kobe would love to end his playing career at the Olympics. So far, Bryant has yet to officially make statements about his future, specifically whether the 2015-2016 National Basketball Association season will be his last. Team USA’s undefeated record since the 2006 loss to Greece shows that the original message has been taken to heart.
2004 U.S. Men’s Basketball Team – The only team of professionals that didn’t win the gold medal has to be the one we leave off the list.
“That’s kind of tough to do but I just want to be able to be a part of something special that’s bigger than myself, which is playing for the Olympic team”, Howard said. Really, the primary reason we have a great culture is because we have great guys, and they’ve been committed.
Griffin was among a group of five players including Kawhi Leonard, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Arron Afflalo and Michael Carter-Williams to play at least 20 minutes apiece for USA White.
That includes Paul, who just recently returned from the NBA’s game in South Africa and said he, James and Anthony have talked about making history in Brazil. “But we will have a portion of our training camp in Las Vegas and also play a (pre-Olympic) game here”.
Twenty-seven points and 16 rebounds is a great stat-line for any player at any level.
Bryant is coming off two straight seasons that ended with injuries so he will have to prove, first and foremost, that he can remain healthy. “I always said you never shut the door entirely on anyone”.
Kevin Durant would soon withdraw from the Basketball World Cup, the losses of those two players leaving the Americans without what was expected to be their starting forwards. So because of that environment, because of all those positives, that’s another thing that just attracts them.
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Colangelo has previously said that attendance at the team’s minicamp in Las Vegas this week is mandatory in order to be considered for the 2016 team.
