It’s almost time for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and
that means another chance for Coach K and his USA Men’s Basketball team to
bring home another gold medal. I’ll get
this out of the way now, no team will be the Dream Team, but there have been some pretty amazing teams. The 2008
team that had all the young talent in the NBA that blossomed into the 2012 team
that breezed through all other countries without breaking a sweat it seemed.
There is something about watching the biggest collection of NBA superstars go
out and just play basketball like they did when they were younger that warms
the hearts of all American’s and makes us so proud. This years team will likely
be no different, the only name that will be missing and the most glaring is
Kobe Bryant. But that means another great NBA player will step in and make his
name. Here is the list of 30 finalists for the Olympic team.
LeBron James
(Cleveland Cavaliers), Carmelo Anthony
(New York Knicks) (both three-time medalists), LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs), Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls), Mike
Conley (Memphis Grizzlies), DeMarcus
Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Stephen
Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony
Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), DeMar
DeRozan (Toronto Raptors), Andre
Drummond (Detroit Pistons), Kevin
Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Kenneth
Faried (Denver Nuggets), Rudy Gay
(Sacramento Kings), Paul George
(Indiana Pacers), Draymond Green (Golden
State Warriors), Blake Griffin (Los
Angeles Clippers), James Harden
(Houston Rockets), Gordon Hayward
(Utah Jazz), Dwight Howard (Houston
Rockets), Andre Iguodola (Golden
State Warriors) , Kyrie Irving
(Cleveland Cavaliers), Kawhi Leonard
(San Antonio Spurs) , Kevin Love
(Cleveland Cavaliers), Chris Paul
(Los Angeles Clippers), DeAndre Jordan
(Los Angeles Clippers), John Wall
(Washington Wizards), Russell Westrbook
(Oklahoma City Thunder)
That’s a lot of names to choose from and make a 12-man
roster. I’d take any combination of 12 players from that list and really like
my chances. I picked my own team that to stack up against the rest of the
world, here’s what I came up with:
LeBron James, Forward:
James is an obvious choice for the final 12-man roster. The best player in the
world has won two gold medals and looks to capture his third in what could be
his last Olympic Games.
Steph Curry, Guard:
Arguably the second best player in the world and the best shooter on the planet
will no doubt add firepower to the team. He might average 30.
Carmelo Anthony,
Forward: Melo is the type who is going to be on the team because he’s been
there and done that. Melo isn’t what he was but in international play you won’t
find many better scorers.
Kevin Durant, Forward:
Another guy who can claim the title as ‘best in the world’, Durant can drop 30
in the blink of eye like much like Curry.
Chris Paul, Guard:
CP3 is probably the most competitive guy on this list and is a leader. You
won’t find many on-ball defenders better than the 6-foot Paul.
Anthony Davis,
Forward/Center: The next big thing in the NBA, literally, is Pelicans big
man Anthony Davis. A post-up player who is now developing an outside shot to go
along with his freakish handles for a 6’10” power forward is always good for a
25 and 10 game.
Andre Drummond,
Center: The best rebounder in the league is someone not many people know
of. Drummond is a walking double-double, just don’t put him on the free throw
line.
Kawhi Leonard,
Forward: The Spurs forward is a superstar in the making and might have the
biggest hands in the NBA. One of the best defenders in the league as well is
someone that will bring a lot of outgoing attitude to the team. That’s a lie.
He’s a stud.
James Harden, Guard:
You won’t see his name on the All-NBA Defensive Team but you will see him
casually drop 40 points. His beard also drops 10.
Russell Westbrook,
Guard: No one plays the game with more intensity than Russell Westbrook.
Almost a walking triple-double, Westbrook might also be the fastest player in
the NBA.
Paul George, Forward:
Potentially the most underrated player in the NBA, George suffered a gruesome leg
injury last year but is in line to play a major role for the 2016 team.
John Wall, Guard:
I mentioned Westbrook being the fastest player in the league; John Wall might
have something to say about that. He’s been coming into his own and is becoming
one of the better guards in the league.
Stephen Springer, follow him on Twitter,
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