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The 2024 Run to Gold by the US Men's Senior National Team in the Olympics, was some of the most exciting basketball we have ever seen. The World has not caught up all the way to the United States, but every country now has multiple NBA players, and most have NBA All-Stars. Because of this, the days of sending any talented American Born player to represent the country, and walking to a Gold, are LONG gone.
The 2024 Roster was built as a team and there were many talented players left off the team, notably Jaylen Brown, who was verbally upset about his omission following an NBA Championship with Boston, in which he was one of the key players. What poured salt on that wound was three of his then teammates in Boston - Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, and Jrue Holiday - were part of the 12 man roster.
Something that managing director, Grant Hill, and his designated committee, have been very vocal about is finding players that can fill a role and working them in with the Superstars that will be tasked with leading Team USA to Gold. This means that there have been many NBA All-Stars left off the team for players that, quite frankly, are role players on their own NBA teams. There is only one basketball, and there are many things that lead to winning and losing that have nothing to do with scoring.
In order to properly predict who could, and should, be on the roster in 2028, we have to take a deep dive into who was on the team in 2024 and fill in the gaps where needed. There is no substitute for the experience gained by being a part of the roster, and therefore the age appropriate players that have already won a Gold medal will most likely get the first shot when Grant Hill and company begin their process for 2028.
Moving On
The 2024 Team was filled with talent, but Key contributors could be aged out. Let's start with some of the stars of the team. LeBron James will most likely be retired by 2028 and going on 43 years old. We think it is safe to say that LeBron's time with international basketball, illustrious and long, has come to an end, and his spot will need to be replaced. The same can most likely be said for Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, who are both currently 37 years old. Going on 40 for both of them, it's not impossible for them to try and suit up one more time for the Red, White, and Blue, but we are going to assume that they have also played their last Olympic game.
Grant Hill was on record as saying Defense is the number one focus and the ability to guard the basketball is paramount in the decision making of the committee. Jrue Holiday was the number 1 target of the committee for that exact reason, which Grant Hill made very clear multiple times. Arguably the best on ball defender in the NBA, Jrue Holiday is certainly in the tail end of a great NBA career. He is now 35 years old and again will fall into the category of experienced, but potentially aged out of the 2028 roster. Much will depend on his health and overall desire to suit up again for the team, but for the sake of our predictions, we are going to move on from Holiday for the 2028 roster.
Joel Embiid was up and down in the Olympic run, as he has been in the NBA the last few seasons, mostly due to injuries. He is one of the best players in the world when he is healthy and motivated, but we are not sure he will be either of those things when rosters are being constructed for the 2028 Olympics. More red flags than not, lead us to err on the side of caution and move on at the Center Position on this roster.
Tyrese Haliburton is a true 50/50 for many reasons. Talented and unselfish, so it is not surprising he was chosen on the 2024 roster but injuries and position within the league in a few years make it unknown whether he will be in the mix again in 2028. We are fans, but for a multitude of reasons, we do not think he will be part of the next roster.
Returners
Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis have great front court versatility and are two of the best defensive big men in the NBA. At 28 and 32 years old respectively, they have been great pieces for a while within the USA system. Assuming they are healthy and want to come back, we would put them as locks for the 2028 roster.
Devin Booker was awesome in his role and proved that he does not need the ball to be effective, which is crucial when you are looking to put 5 great players on the floor at the same time. Although he is one of the best players in the NBA, he was more than happy doing whatever the team needed of him to win Gold, and in many ways he was the glue that held the team together on the 2024 team. His talent, toughness, and willingness to do whatever it takes make him a virtual lock to appear on the roster again in 2028.
Anthony Edwards, despite all of his accomplishments, is somehow still only 24 years old. He is one of the best players in the NBA, and very well could be THE best player in a few seasons. He loves to compete, and is a great two way competitor. On the 2024 team he was more of a microwave scorer off the bench and differed to the veteran stars on the team, but in 2028 he will be a focal point on this team. Count him in assuming nothing crazy happens, and we expect him to be one of the leaders of the roster.
Derrick White is a perfect example of a player who knows how to play a role, doesn't need much, and does a lot of positive things for a roster that don't show up on the stat sheet. He was a surprising add to the 2024 roster when Kawhi Leonard was injured, and found a way to being a key piece in almost every important game on the run to Gold. No guarantee on this one, but we think he does the things that are valued at the highest level, has proven himself, and will be part of this roster when it's all said and done.
Finally, the question mark of all question marks, Jayson Tatum. The SUPERSTAR should be an absolute no brainer for this roster. He has been a First Team All NBA player multiple times, and has a Championship pedigree as the main guy. He is a top player in the league, in his prime, and largely considered a winning guy. This is exactly why it was National news when Steve Kerr decided to DNP Tatum multiple times without explanation in last year's Olympics, and although Tatum was a Professional about the whole situation, it could have left a bad taste in his mouth about the experience. Pair that with the fact that he is recovering from a serious injury, we could see him saying no, thank you. For right now however, we are counting him in. He is just too good to leave off.
Predicted Returners
Anthony Edwards
Jayson Tatum
Bam Adebayo
Anthony Davis
Derrick White
Devin Booker
Predicted Departures
Tyrese Haliburton
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Steph Curry
Joel Embiid
Jrue Holiday
The Newcomers
This leaves half the team to fill, and a ton of scoring that needs added for the 2028 roster. Let's start with Superstars in the NBA currently that we think should, and will, be on the 2028 Olympic Roster
Cade Cunningham has started to turn the corner and prove that he is one of the best players in the world. At 24 years old, he will be just hitting his prime and any questions that anyone on the committee may have had about him being a winner should have been answered with the turnaround in Detroit. He still has another step to reach his potential, and we think he will continue to prove that he is the perfect piece for this team. He is big but can handle the ball and as a side note, he actually torched the 2024 roster as part of the USA Select team that scrimmaged against the National Team last time.
Next, Paolo Banchero should find his way onto the roster. At 6'10, 250, Banchero has a lot of the physical tools that work well in a more physical international game. He is big enough to play the four but can guard multiple positions. Historically, we have had a short training camp leading into competition, and the coaching staff has chosen to switch 1-5 defensively, which he is more than capable of doing.
The Final Superstar scorer that we are going to add to the mix here is Donovan Mitchell. This is not a lock by any stretch of the imagination, but we feel as if his mental make up, defensive ability when motivated, and ability to get hot, make him the perfect off the bench spark for the roster.
The team is in need of one more Swiss army knife and Jalen Williams of the World Champion Thunder has proven he can be that and much more at a high level. He is now an All-Star level talent, but at his core we think he is willing and able to play a nice piece alongside other monster scorers.
Cooper Flagg and Evan Mobley we think will round out the roster. Mobley, the reigning DPOY in the NBA has the defensive pedigree to provide a nice anchor in the middle alongside Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo. Cooper Flagg has a lot to prove but we have seen enough to know that he fits the mold of winning dude who can do a little bit of everything on the court.
Final 2028 USA Olympic Roster Prediction
Anthony Edwards
Jayson Tatum
Bam Adebayo
Anthony Davis
Derrick White
Devin Booker
Cooper Flagg
Evan Mobley
Donovan Mitchell
Paolo Banchero
Jalen Williams
Cade Cunningham
