The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 are now a month away, and the United States will be the heavy favourite to win Olympic gold in men’s basketball. Since NBA stars have been part of the Olympic stage, the Americans have won every gold medal since 1992 except for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, when the United States was beaten 89-81 to Argentina in the semifinals and had to settle for bronze.
This year’s American Olympic men’s basketball team is filled with star power. According to Scott Davis of Yahoo! Sports, the 12 players selected to the team are Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks, Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
Of the 12 players selected to the team, three are still in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. They are Holiday, Middleton, and Booker. The Bucks are about to start their Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, the Suns currently lead the Los Angeles Clippers 2-0 in the Western Conference Final.
Green and Durant each won a gold medal for the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In the gold medal game from the Olympic Games five years ago, the United States beat Serbia 96-66, and it was Durant who led the team in scoring with 30 points. Durant and Love were also part of the American Olympic team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
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