It wasn’t long ago that basketball fans around the country were wondering if Team USA was going to be able to continue their dominance at the Olympics in Rio. All we were hearing was star player after star player letting us know they were going to pass on the Olympics for reasons varying from personal to just wanting to rehab an injury. Names like Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and so on decided the time wasn’t right for them. Things looked gloomy but this week the team has come into focus and it’s safe to say the Gold medal should still reside in the U.S. when the games are over, even with Lebron James taking a pass as well.
@IamJoeSports
Nobody can blame Lebron for wanting to enjoy his summer and relax. After an epic finals performance that saw him win MVP, he has earned the rest. Not too mention how much basketball he has constantly played thanks to six consecutive finals appearances and the Olympics back in 2008 and 2012. He also played on the 2004 team but we won’t talk about that.
Even with Lebron not around this summer, the fact that Kevin Durant agreed to play, pretty much locks up the Gold regardless of who else is missing. Durant confirmed his spot earlier this week. “We talk so much about workload now, we knew all these guys were going to. We talk so much about minutes being played and resting guys during the year and the workload and it’s too many games, I knew guys were going to think about that,” Durant said. “It’s natural. It’s a part of it. You can respect it. But I want to play though. I just want to hoop.”
KD will lead a team that will also consist of Klay Thompson, Carmelo Anthony, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins and Paul George. Paul announced yesterday he would join the team, which will mark his return to team USA since his gruesome leg injury during the summer of 2014.
There is still a couple roster spots open and they will be officially announced next week. Looking at that current lineup, there should be no reason they don’t dominate on the world stage as usual.
