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USA Basketball suffered a crushing loss in last summer’s FIBA World Cup when it failed to win a medal, and it had an immediate impact on their plans for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Almost instantly, a number of NBA stars and superstars said they would like to play for Team USA in the Olympics, which led to some sportswriters dubbing the potential 2024 squad the “Avengers.”
It looks like the core of the roster is set, but other strong candidates to join them include Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Bam Adebayo, and Anthony Davis per Shams Charania.
Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Bam Adebayo, and Anthony Davis are “strong candidates” to join Team USA, per @ShamsCharania
Current locks: Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid
(Via https://t.co/Ij6CNr5ERC) pic.twitter.com/RRFIQHGPXy
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 28, 2024
One problem Team USA had last summer was a lack of length and size, but it looks like that won’t really be the case this time around.
Edwards is one of the brightest young rising superstars in the game today, not to mention one of the most confident athletes in any team sport.
He’s averaging 26.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are in first place in the Western Conference and have emerged as championship contenders.
Haliburton is another guard who is making the jump to elite status, and he’s putting up 21.5 points and a league-high 11.6 assists a game this season for the Indiana Pacers.
Adebayo is a versatile player who can score, rebound, and handle the ball a bit, and he is also an elite defender who is seemingly always a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Another Defensive Player of the Year competitor is Davis, who has averages of 24.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots a game, and he previously won a gold medal with Team USA in 2012.
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