![]() jersey: “Just because it’s ‘Melo, I would love to pass him.” Hemming and hawing aside, if Durant wants to suit up in Tokyo, the United States’ unquestioned top offensive weapon should be a lock.ĭitto for George, the Indiana Pacers star who came back from a devastating leg injury during a Team USA scrimmage in 2014 to establish himself as arguably the best all-around player on the U.S. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)įorwards: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Justise Winslowįresh off a therapeutic strafing of Argentina and Serbia in the knockout round to earn his second gold medal and reach second place on Team USA’s all-time scoring list, Durant told Michael Lee of The Vertical that he couldn’t say right now whether he’d come back for a third Summer Games at age “31, going on 32.” He did say, however, that he likes the idea of becoming the highest-scoring man ever to wear a U.S. Kevin Durant and LeBron James could be the veteran anchors of Team USA 2020’s frontcourt. If any of the older heads drop out, my top choices would be Wall, who I’d love to see cranked up defensively and in transition in red, white and blue, and Booker, who turned heads in Phoenix as a 19-year-old rookie and could be a full-fledged star by age 23, and who would likely feast from the shorter FIBA 3-point line. in international competition as either a more “pure” playmaker like John Wall or D’Angelo Russell, a dead-eye shooter like Damian Lillard, Devin Booker or Bradley Beal, or a versatile wing like Rodney Hood.įor now, though, Westbrook’s superior senior national team experience - gold at both the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 London Games - give him the edge. Despite my love for his work and my excitement at the prospect of seeing him utterly unleashed in Oklahoma City this season, I can’t help but wonder how well his athleticism-dependent game will age as he hits the wrong side of 30 (he’ll be 31 in Tokyo) and whether a less explosive and relentless Russ offers as much upside for the U.S. Westbrook, frankly, gives me the most pause. Both offer the size and versatility to assume multiple roles as facilitators, floor-spacers, attackers and defenders in whatever capacity Pop needs depending on matchups. Harden served as the leading scorer and supplementary playmaker on the 2014 FIBA World Cup squad. Thompson struggled with his shot at times in Rio, but played a key defensive role and shook loose for big scoring performances when the U.S. Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Curry will be 32, closer to the edge of his prime than the peak of his powers, but his lights-out shooting and ball-handling would seemingly make him a mortal lock for a spot should he be healthy enough to take one next time around. ![]() point guard during the 2014 FIBA World Cup and with his (inconsistent at times, but generally effective) play in Rio, and will be a primed-and-ready 28 in Tokyo. is working from an embarrassment of riches in the backcourt. But Paul’s going to be 35 when the Tokyo Games tip off, Lowry’s going to be 34, and the U.S. Ditto Lowry, who transformed himself into a top-flight NBA player and earned his stripes for the national team with his dogged defense off Coach K’s bench. It feels downright rude to leave Paul, the heroic commander of the American forces in London, off this list if he wants to be there. Guards: Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Klay Thompson James Harden and Kyrie Irving starred during the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and could again in Tokyo. We know Carmelo Anthony, now in possession of three gold medals he wouldn’t trade for anything, will not be on Pop’s roster. (Which, now that I type it out, sounds like a late-’60s “Thunderbirds” knockoff.) We know three-time NBA Coach of the Year and San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich will be stalking the sidelines. Given the gulf between the victory in Rio and the opening of play in Japan, there’s precious little we (think we) know about what will unfold for Team USA 2020. As the United States’ opponents set about rebuilding, revamping and reloading their national sides with an eye toward the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, though, it’s worth wondering: what might the U.S.’s own roster look like in four years’ time? After Team USA’s dominating 96-66 drubbing of Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to win a third straight gold medal in men’s basketball, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo called upon the rest of the world to “get their act together and compete” if they want to break the stranglehold the Americans have had on the top of the men’s hoops podium over the past eight years.
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