One month before the start of Tokyo 2020, the United States would have defined all the players who will be present at the event. Here we tell you who they are.
On a Wednesday with several changes, the United States defined the 12 players who They will be part of the basketball team at the Tokyo Olympic Games that will begin on July 23. In the absence of official confirmation, James Harden dropped out of the event and Jerami Grant will go in his place. In turn, Zach LaVine entered those summoned by Gregg Popovich. Here we tell you what they are, one by one.
The 12 NBA stars who will be at the Olympics, one by one:
- Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
- Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
- Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
- Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
- Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
- Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
- Draymond Green (Los Angeles Lakers)
- Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)
- Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons)
James Harden will not go to the Olympics
This was to be the second Olympic experience for James Harden, who was part of the United States team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London and was also part of the team that won the 2014 Basketball World Cup in Spain.
However, finally the Nets player decided to get out of the event to take advantage of the postseason and recover physically after In the last edition, he missed several games due to a hamstring injury in his right leg.
Zach LaVine and Jerami Grant, the last to join
After several days in which little by little the first names of the North American basketball players who will attend Tokyo 2020 were emerging, finally The list would have come to an end since this Wednesday the name of the player number 12 transcended.
Is about Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls 26-year-old forward that adds up to a call that, in the absence of being made official, would be full of NBA stars such as Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard.
On the other hand, Jerami Grant, the 27-year-old forward who plays for the Detroit Pistons, will be in charge of filling the vacancy left by James Harden when he left the call.
Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday to replace Chirs Paul and Kevin Love’s surprise
In replacement of Chris Paul he will attend the Olympic appointment with the United States Bucks shooting guard Jrue Holiday. Also, the other two to be added are Khris Middleton, the 29-year-old forward who is one of the key pieces of the Milwaukee Bucks in this edition, and Kevin Love, power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who is the main surprise on the list.
Tatum, Lillard and Green the first confirmed for the Tokyo Olympics
Jayson tatum, base and figure of Boston Celtics, will have his Olympic debut and it will also be a personal revenge in the selected team after the quarterfinal game against France in which the North Americans were eliminated during the 2019 World Cup in China was lost due to injury.
For his part, the Portland Trail Blazers star, Damian Lillard, who turns 31 on July 15, will play his first Olympics after being left out of Rio 2016, when the United States won its third consecutive gold medal. The third is the power forward Draymond green, 31, who does He was part of the 2016 team.
Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, two others who will go to Tokyo
The fourth to join was Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal. The 27-year-old had been part of the 57 shortlisted and will reinforce Team USA. Along with him, Devin Booker, escort and one of the main figures of the Phoenix Suns, joined. His appearance is all the more surprising because his team is still in competition in the Playoffs.
Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo will be in the USA Team
After the Brooklyn Nets were eliminated from the playoff semifinals, Kevin Durant decided that he will attend Tokyo. For the escort, it will be the third time he has participated in the Olympics. The previous ones were in London 2012 and Rio 2016, editions in which his country hung the gold medal, so now it will look for the third one in your personal account. If successful, could catch up with Carmelo Anthony who has three golds (and a bronze), which positions him as the top winner, and he would not go to Tokyo since he was not even part of the 57 shortlisted.
Bam Adebayo, a young power forward for the Miami Heat, will also be at the Olympics to represent the United States in Tokyo 2020. The 23-year-old basketball player will have his first time at such a date. He only played one match with his national team.
The NBA stars who will not go to the Olympics
The two who were ruled out from the start were LeBron James and his partner Anthony Davis. The players of Los angeles lakers They have come to close a season in which they were very complicated by injuries, so they will possibly use this period to recover and rest. Later another that got off beforehand was Stephen Curry. The Warriors star warned that he will not be part of Team USA, same path that Kyle Lowry chose, base of Toronto Raptors. What’s more, Chris Paul, who had been confirmed, declined his participation as did James Harden.
The calendar United States towards the Olympic Games
The North American team will begin training in Las Vegas on July 6, although It is expected that by the end of this month the list of summoned will be made official. On the other hand, regarding the Olympic event basketball will be played between July 25 and August 7.
America’s rivals at the Olympics
In the olympics, The United States will be part of Group A along with Iran, France and a rival to be defined in the Pre-Olympic to be played in Canada. The fourth member will leave between China, Uruguay, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Canada and Greece.
The medals the United States won at the Olympics
Despite missing some of the brightest stars, the United States is the clear candidate for the gold medal. Since the Olympic Games allowed the participation of professional players in Barcelona 1992, six golds have been hung. The Athens 2004 edition was the only time they failed. On that occasion Argentina won the final. Prior to the arrival of the professionals, they climbed to the top of the podium 9 times.