NBA: Evaluating The Team USA Roster For The Rio Olympics

The Team USA basketball roster is set with only a little over a month left before the Rio Olympics. With several big NBA names on the list, we evaluate the squad before the 2016 Games

While the NBA season has been over all of a week, already some of the games’ top stars are gearing up to represent the United States as part of the Team USA at the Olympics in Rio this August.

As the NBA Playoffs wound down, several of the top players in the world elected not to participate for various reasons. In doing so, concern began to grow that the squad might be lacking the firepower of years past.

LeBron James, LaMarcus Aldridge, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Chris Paul, John Wall, Russell Westbrook have all elected to bypass the Olympics this summer for various reasons.

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Regardless, the Team USA roster is once again comprised of an NBA All Star level roster of players. The completed roster is:

Carmelo Anthony – Forward
Kevin Durant – Forward
Paul George – Forward
Draymond Green – Forward
Harrison Barnes – Forward
Klay Thompson – Guard
Kyrie Irving – Guard
Jimmy Butler – Guard
Kyle Lowry – Guard
DeMar DeRozan – Guard
DeMarcus Cousins – Center
DeAndre Jordan – Center

When looking at the roster, several things stand out. The first, the NBA’s biggest names are missing.

2016 Finals MVP LeBron James is off the list, citing a need for rest after the grueling season.

Stephen Curry is also absent, with the two-time MVP electing to give his knee time to heal after injuring it during the course of the playoffs.

ICYMI: Team USA's Olympic roster for men's basketball is complete. https://t.co/hCahv9ZsdG pic.twitter.com/qrv5nJQoK7
— ESPN (@espn) June 27, 2016

This years team has only two players, Anthony and Durant, from the 2012 team that won the gold medal in London four years ago.

On the flip-side, the team has several stars who have risen to the ranks of the elite since the last games. NBA champion Irving, Butler, Thompson, and others fill the roster.

In terms of firepower, it is a favorable list. Butler and Thompson in particular are some of the best two-way players in the world today. Cousins is one of the best centers in game, a factor missing from the 2012 team. Durant and Anthony also remain two of the most lethal scorers in basketball.

If anything, the squad admittedly lacks the resonance that the London team had. That squad was filled with established superstars of the game like Kobe Bryant, James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, etc.

The big question now is whether a squad with less international experience can mesh well together under coach Mike Krzyzewski and follow his direction under pressure as they face teams who would love the prestige of knocking Team USA out of the tournament.

A welcome addition to the squad is Paul George who returns to the team after suffering a gruesome right leg fracture in a televised scrimmage prior to the FIBA World Cup in 2014. While he missed the majority of the following season with the Pacers, he returned to have an exceptional playoff run in 2016.

Finally, the most surprising name on the list is Harrison Barnes from the Golden State Warriors. While Barnes is a player with championship experience, many questioned why he was chosen over more established forwards like Al Horford. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Barnes sees during the tournament.

The team will begin their training camp on July 18 and continue through the 22nd. They will then play several exhibitions, beginning with one against China on the 24th and finishing against Nigeria on August 1st.

The Rio Olympics basketball tournament will begin on August 6th and conclude on the 21st.