NYSportsJournalism.com - Pre-2020 Olympics, USA Hoops Unveils 35-Man Roster
With the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo just a little over two years off, USA Basketball has named 35 players to a roster from which will come the 12 members who will compete in the Olympics as well as members representing the U.S. in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
The national team pool includes 11 gold medalists from the 2016 Rio Olympic team, seven 2012 London Olympics gold medalists, eight members of the gold medalist 2014 FIBA World Cup Team and five players who were members of the 2010 USA team that captured the FIBA World Cup title.
The 35-man pool is led by Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors), Paul George (Oklahoma City Thunder), James Harden (Houston Rockets), Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Chris Paul (Houston Rockets), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), John Wall (Washington Wizards) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).
The 2017-20 USA Basketball National Team staff is headed by USA National Team and San Antonio Spurs head Gregg Popovich, who last year took over the National Team position from Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The 2018 USA National Team is scheduled to hold a minicamp with daily practices (July 25-27) in Las Vegas in UNLV’s Mendenhall Center.
Players such as Irving and Isaiah Thomas (Los Angeles Lakers) may not participate due to post-surgery rehabilitation.
FIBA World Cup qualifying games are being used to name 31 of the 32 nations that will compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup (Aug. 31-Sept. 15). China has automatically qualified as host nation for the World Cup.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (July 24-Aug. 9) will feature 12 nations in the Olympic men’s basketball competition.
Results from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify seven teams for Tokyo 2020: The top two finishing teams in the World Cup from the Americas and Europe, as well as the top finisher from Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Four nations will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held in 2020 in advance of the Olympics.
Olympic host Japan has automatically qualified.
“While we do not have an official competition that we need to prepare for in 2018, the selection and announcement of our new pool of national team members and this year’s July minicamp are important first steps in our preparations to defend the FIBA World Cup and Olympic titles we won during the last two quadrenniums,” Jerry Colangelo, managing director of the USA National Team, said in a statement.
“This year’s minicamp is an opportunity for us to continue and expand the culture, brotherhood and camaraderie that has been built.”
According to Colangelo. “As is shown by the return of 29 past national team players, our pipeline is well developed and it is a key factor in our success.
“We’re also excited about the new players who have been added to the program and the roster will remain fluid over the next three years as we continue to look for and consider players who can contribute to our program.”
The full 35-man pool and their current NBA team includes: