Jalen Rose thinks NBA players should only play in Olympics once

Everyone has an opinion on USA Olympic basketball.

Once we started sending NBA players to represent our country in 1992 and began dominating the rest of the world, it was too easy. People wanted us to go back to sending college players.

Then, as more and more top players started to skip out on the Olympics and the United States stopped winning gold, it was all about getting the best players back into the Olympics.

The prevailing thought this year is that Team USA is going to roll through the competition. It's got people like Jalen Rose thinking about alternative methods when it comes to making up the roster.

Here's what Rose said in an interview with USA Today:

I am! But you know what I’ve thought about as I watched Carmelo Anthony, the first four-time American Olympian [in men’s basketball]? I think you should only get to be in the Olympics once. 450 players in the NBA. It’s great to see the All-Star level, the superstar level players consistently perform, but as intriguing as it is for someone immersed in NBA basketball, who watch them all the time and know their stories. Imagine if we had some guys who are on teams that are not as well known in the league. Then we’d get to see them on this platform. I think if you get one gold medal, then you should pass. Definitely two.

Rose makes an interesting point here. Limiting NBA players to one Olympics would allow other NBA players with the opportunity to play in this worldwide spotlight.

But this would also be tricky to implement and overall, probably wouldn't work out. It's already still a battle just to get players to play in the Olympics. Limiting players from doing it multiple times doesn't seem like a good idea. The United States needs guys like Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony this year to help ensure a gold medal is won.

Anthony and KD have been staples of Team USA basketball for years and not just in the Olympics. If they both knew they could only take part in one Olympics, maybe they wouldn't be as willing to commit to the program for so many years. If anything, we should be applauding the likes of KD and Anthony for making the sacrifice to play in the Olympics multiple times.