Team USA's Final Men’s Basketball Roster Should Win Gold in Tokyo

With the Tokyo Olympics officially one month away, it appears USA Basketball’s men’s roster is complete — and it looks like a winner.

Starting with an initial field of 57 players, USA Basketball had to whittle its player pool down to a 12-man roster for the Games in Tokyo this summer. With several players committing in recent days, including Jrue Holiday of the Bucks along with Milwaukee teammate Khris Middleton and Cleveland forward Kevin Love, that process appears to be complete.

Barring injury or recovery issues for players who are banged up, here’s the roster:

Kevin Durant, F, Brooklyn Nets
James Harden, G, Brooklyn Nets
Damian Lillard, G, Portland Trail Blazers
Devin Booker, G, Phoenix Suns
Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
Khris Middleton, G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
Draymond Green, F/C, Golden State Warriors
Jrue Holiday, G, Milwaukee Bucks
Kevin Love, F, Cleveland Cavaliers
Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks

Holiday, who is trying to follow in his wife Lauren’s footsteps and win an Olympic gold medal, Lopez, Middleton and Booker are still active in the NBA playoffs and may not be ready to roll by the time Team USA starts training camp in Las Vegas on July 6.

The U.S. men have won gold at three consecutive Summer Games and should be able to extend that streak to four starting next month. Team USA’s roster isn’t especially big, but every player with the exception of Adebayo can shoot from long range, and most of the players who made the final cut can guard multiple positions on defense. This team will also be motivated to show well after Team USA flamed out at the 2019 Basketball World Cup in China, finishing seventh with a team that included Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Tatum.

The best pure shooter in basketball, Steph Curry, isn’t on the team after declining an invitation to play, and at the age of 33, has yet to suit up at an Olympics.

LeBron James has played for the U.S. Olympic team before, but he is also sitting out the Games this time around. “I think I’m going to play for the Tune Squad this summer instead of the Olympics,” James said while referencing Space Jam: A New Legacy. “I think that’s what my focus [is] on, trying to beat the Monstars, or the Goon Squad we call them now. So, didn’t have much success versus the Suns, so now I am gearing my attention to the Goon Squad here in July, mid-July.”

July 5 is the official deadline for USA Basketball to submit its final Olympic roster. As of now, the Americans are favored to win gold (-305), followed by Serbia (+800), Spain (+800) and France (+1700).