The 41-player pool of candidates for USA Basketball's 2024 Paris Olympics roster has officially been unveiled, with many of basketball's biggest, brightest, longest-shining stars set to compete for one of 12 final spots. It's clear LeBron James wants play in France after Team USA's dispiriting showing at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, even going so far as to recruit other luminary veterans to join him in the quest for Olympic gold.
The Americans will face another stiff test on the international stage no matter who's ultimately wearing red, white and blue come July. The days of Team USA dominating the Olympics and World Cup are over. But James publicly committing to Paris certainly increases the odds of USA Basketball finally bringing back its true A-team to international competition, making the final few roster spots especially difficult to decide—even merely for an on-paper exercise, some six months out from training camp.
Good luck to managing director Grant Hill, head coach Steve Kerr and the other Team USA powers that be finalizing their 12-man roster for Paris. With so much talent ready and willing to play, the Americans have the chance to field one of their best teams in program history this summer.
Now that the 41-player pool has been announced, let's predict what Team USA's final roster will look for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Guard: Stephen Curry, Tyrese Haliburton, Devin Booker, Alex Caruso
Curry has finally shown sustained signs of slippage on both ends this season, contributing to the Warriors' porous defense while proving unable to lift them to elite status on the other end. He's a shoo-in for Paris regardless. Still the best shooter in the world, Curry's relative deficiencies creating his own offense and containing the ball will be mitigated by elite surrounding talent. He's also a program veteran, winning FIBA gold in 2010 and 2014, but has never played in the Olympics.
Curry is definitely getting an invitation. Is there any way he'd pass on one final opportunity to play with other legends of his generation while being coached by Kerr? No way.
Haliburton was the Americans' best player during a rough World Cup showing last summer and has only improved his reputation since, now on an extremely short list of the top offensive players in the world. He also has an argument as the game's most impactful all-around passer, a title he definitely owns in USA Basketball's player pool with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic set to play for their home countries.
Hill's program may not value continuity and long-term commitment as much as it did under Jerry Colangelo, but still needs bridges between the past and future. Haliburton fits that bill after thriving at the World Cup, and his deadeye shooting ability—no matter where is on the floor, off the dribble or catch and from multiple platforms and angles—only adds to his value as a playmaker on a team absolutely loaded with talent.
Booker can serve as that “bridge” player for Team USA, too, especially after taking more on-ball responsibilities with the star-studded Phoenix Suns this season. Like fellow previous gold-medal winners James, Curry and others, he's already on-record as wanting to play in France, and is the type of offensive player who can scale back his usage and remain a true difference-maker. Booker has also proven a smart, disruptive help defender in the playoffs over the years, key after the U.S. was exposed defensively in FIBA play.
Ready for the shocker? Caruso is the only non-star chosen here, occupying the Swiss Army Knife role-player space once held by the likes of Tayshaun Prince, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes on previous Olympic teams. Both in the player pool and on this roster prediction for his peerless, versatile point-of-attack defense, Caruso has always been a smart passer and quick decision-maker who thrives alongside great players—the “connector” coaches like Kerr and USA assistant Erik Spoelstra love. His 42.0% three-point shooting this season on career-best volume only makes Caruso's selection easier.
Forward: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Paul George
James is Team USA's lock of locks. Barring injury, he'll be playing a primary role for the Americans in France, vying for his third Olympic gold after bypassing the Games in 2016 and 2020. Durant is just an obvious a pick as James and Curry. The only factor that will keep him from wearing red, white and blue for a whopping fifth time is health.
Leonard is a more interesting case, but not because he's any less worthy than James and Durant. He's been one of the five best players in basketball this season, ruthlessly efficient while turning back the clock defensively to occasionally check the opposition's best player. Injuries are always at the forefront when it comes to Leonard's availability; he's missed just four games due to injury in 2023-24, playing both sides of every Los Angeles Clippers back-to-back.
Don't forget that Leonard wanted to play in last year's World Cup, either, ultimately backing out due to “other obligations.” He's never played for Team USA before, and at 32, is likely facing his last Olympic opportunity. With contemporaries like James, Curry and Durant all set to play in Paris, don't be shocked when Leonard joins them.
Tatum, like Haliburton and Booker before him, seems like a USA Basketball fixture for years to come. He's still not on the exalted all-time level reached by James, Durant and Leonard and may never get there, but Tatum's two-way versatility makes him a shoo-in regardless.
The same goes for George, health and potentially a new long-term contract in LA provided. Kerr supposedly already asked George about his interest in the Olympics earlier this season, too. If longtime peers like James, Curry and Durant are playing, not to mention Leonard, why wouldn't PG?
Big: Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo
As big a win as it was for James to recruit players to join him in Paris almost a year in advance, a bigger one for USA Basketball might be securing a commitment from Embiid. In October, the reigning NBA MVP and presumptive frontrunner to win the award again this season announced his plans to play for Team USA in the Olympics, choosing to suit up for the Americans over Cameroon and France. He's a lock to be Kerr's starting center in France.
Davis is just as equipped for that job as Embiid, if not more so given his superior mobility and vertical threat as a roll man. If James is going to Paris, rest assured Davis will follow him, giving Team USA the best one-two punch of bigs at the Olympics.
The Americans were absolutely abused on the interior by Germany and Lithuania en route to a seventh-place finish at last year's World Cup. They'll surely take as much size as possible to the Olympics with that humbling reality in mind, and there's no better candidate to be Team USA's third big than Adebayo. He can function alone as a center if Embiid or Davis get in foul trouble or, gulp, suffer injury, but also play next to either of them up front given his ability to check five positions, drain mid-range jumpers and make plays for teammates within the flow of the offense.
Toughest cuts: Mikal Bridges, Anthony Edwards, Desmond Bane, Aaron Gordon, Derrick White
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