James, Curry headline USA’s 34-man pool
LeBron James (left) and Stephen Curry. AFP FILE PHOTO
Building the best Team USA ever?
From pillars of the Redeem Team to staples of the last few incarnations of the national team, USA Basketball sure is bringing all the goods for its Las Vegas minicamp, set on Aug. 11-13.
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers banner the 34-man roster, which will be the pool for the 2016 Rio Olympics men’s national basketball squad.
James, however, will just attend a portion of the minicamp before going back to Ohio for his foundation’s Family Reunion event, as per reports of USA Today.
Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets’ super-scorer James Harden, and New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis also highlights the star-studded minicamp roster.
Aside from James, remnants of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Redeem Team include two-time Olympic gold medalist Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.
The Oklahoma City Thunder duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, leads the contingent from the 2012 London Olympics squad, together with Harden, Paul, Davis, Anthony and Kevin Love.
Not to be outdone, “Splash Brothers” Curry and Klay Thompson brought all but one of the 2014 Fiba World Cup gold medal-winning squad, which includes Harden, Davis, Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Demar DeRozan, Andre Drummond and Mason Plumlee.
Completing the minicamp roster are: Lamarcus Aldridge, now of the San Antonio Spurs, and his new teammate Kawhi Leonard; Los Angeles Clippers frontcourt duo of Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan; NBA champions Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes of the Warriors; comebacking Indiana Pacers forward Paul George; Washington Wizards backcourt John Wall and Bradley Beal;
The 2015 NBA Most Improved Player Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls; Memphis Grizzlies playmaker Mike Conley; Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris of the Orlando Magic; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward; Chandler Parsons of the Dallas Mavericks; and Milwaukee Bucks’ Michael Carter-Williams.
Noticeably left out of the minicamp roster was Derrick Rose, who according to previous reports was still contemplating if he will attend the minicamp.
USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said that anyone who wishes to make it to the 2016 Rio squad should attend the Las Vegas camp.
Durant and Love are expected to sit out the scrimmages due to injuries, while George, who suffered a broken leg in a televised scrimmage for the buildup in last year’s FIBA World Cup, will just be present in the meeting.
