USA Basketball announced a 41-athlete player pool as candidates for the Paris Olympics roster. Eventually, 12 players will make the final cut.
Among the 12 names that we initially projected to make the roster after the 2023 FIBA World Cup, 11 appeared on the first list. Those players were LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards and Mikal Bridges.
A few notable All-Stars to also earn invitations include Chris Paul, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jarrett Allen.
The other players were Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Brunson, Alex Caruso, Aaron Gordon, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Chet Holmgren, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson and Derrick White.
Two players who we did not include in our surprising omissions were Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. While both of these players may have helped the team on the court, they have faced off-court issues that made invitations unlikely — plus Morant is currently injured.
Otherwise, these were the most surprising omissions from the list:
1
Tyrese Maxey
Maxey is one of the breakout stars of the 2023-24 NBA season and he has experience within the Team USA pipeline. He represented Team USA during the FIBA U18 Americas Championship that won gold in 2018. Maxey also expressed interest in representing his country before the 2023 FIBA World Cup, per The Athletic.
2
Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, said the following before the season began:
“If Team USA wanted me, that’s a huge honor. But that would be something that I have to think about when the time comes and if the opportunity is presented to me.”
But he was not one of the players included in the 41-athlete player pool for Team USA.
3
Cade Cunningham
Cade Cunningham was one of the leaders on the Team USA Select squad before the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He received glowing reviews during the scrimmages but was not on the 41-athlete invitational list for Paris.
His teammate, Jalen Duren, also played for Team USA’s select roster and could have made sense as an invitation in the frontcourt as well.
4
LaMelo Ball
Although he is one of the most intriguing young stars in the league, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball was not included on the Team USA Select roster before the Tokyo Olympics. He is also not on the 41-athlete play pool for the Paris Olympics.
5
DeMar DeRoan
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan said he would “definitely” play for Team USA if he was asked to join before the Paris Olympics. The six-time All-Star, who is also an Olympic gold medalist and FIBA World Cup gold medalist, wasn’t on the 41-athlete player pool.
6
Khris Middleton
Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, a three-time All-Star and an Olympic gold medalist, said he would “for sure” play at the Paris Olympics if he was given the opportunity.
7
Bradley Beal
Before the season began, Phoenix’s Bradley Beal (a three-time All-Star who was committed to play in the Tokyo Olympics before he positive for COVID-19) said he was “100 percent” interested in playing for the 2024 team if asked to join.
8
Fred VanVleet
Houston’s Fred VanVleet said he would “love” to represent Team USA at the 2024 Olympics. He also said that there was some interest in USA Basketball before the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Yet his name did not appear on the player pool invitation list.
9
Julius Randle
Julius Randle, now a two-time All-Star, was considered “right there” in the mix for a spot to play in the Olympics on the Team USA roster in Tokyo. Randle, however, reportedly never received an offer as the team instead looked for more role players, via the New York Post. He will not get a chance to play in Paris, either.
10
Jalen Williams
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, like Cunningham, was on the Team USA Select roster before the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Williams is also enjoying a breakout campaign this season and is having an All-Star-caliber season for the Thunder, so his omission was surprising.
11
Keegan Murray
Sacramento’s Keegan Murray is a promising young player who already has experience playing for Team USA’s select roster before the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
12
Evan Mobley
Evan Mobley, who was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year last season, was seen by some experts as “USA’s center of the future” and already has two gold medals during Under-16 and Under-17 tournaments for Team USA.
According to league insider Marc Stein, however, the Bahamas “could explore the availability” of landing Mobley after they clinched a spot in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
His teammate, Darius Garland, does not have as much background with Team USA but could have made some sense as well.
13
Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez, a former NBA All-Star and NBA champion, was enthusiastic about potentially joining Team USA:
“It’s something I always dreamed of experiencing since I was a little kid. I’m absolutely for it. I asked Steve Kerr while I was subbing into a game last year — I didn’t ask, I told him I was free this coming summer of ’24, so hopefully this will help remind him.”
Lopez would have provided some defensive help in the frontcourt for Team USA.
14
Herbert Jones
Another player who has taken a giant step forward this season is defensive ace Herbert Jones. He played for Team USA’s select roster before the 2023 FIBA World Cup and is an elite role player for the Pelicans but will not have a chance to play in the 2024 Olympics.
His teammate, Trey Murphy, also played for Team USA’s select roster but did not receive an invite to the 41-athlete player pool.
