標籤: teaser

Does anyone else still have Olympic fever? With the 2026 Winter Olympics coming to an end, meaning there will be no more afternoon curling tournaments, all of our attention is now focused on the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles, California. After seeing Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry win gold medals in France, could we see these three stars lead Team USA once again?

The spectacle dominated headlines and the basketball world in 2024. There was nothing better than watching these three greats win gold medals in France, and now, USA Basketball can do the same on home soil in two years.

“Golden Dagger!”

Steph Curry This is absolutely ridiculous. 🤯#parisolympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/8hIN8tgmfK

– NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) 10 August 2024

However, with the 2024 Olympics over, it looks like this will be the last time we see LeBron, KD, and Steph playing together on the court. James told reporters he would be “watching from Cabo” and Curry said he “highly doubts it.”

After all, they are in the final stages of their respective careers, and it’s reasonable to believe that James won’t be in the NBA by the time of the next Olympics.

It’s never too early to consider what the future of USA Basketball will look like, especially now that Durant is hinting at playing in Southern California in two years, shortly after the conclusion of all winter programs in Italy.

Kevin Durant won’t close the door to the 2028 Olympics

When the 2024 Olympics ended and Team USA, led by Durant, James and Curry, won gold medals, everyone’s attention immediately turned to what the future of USA basketball would look like.

Cooper Flagg, who had not yet been drafted, was a popular choice for many to be one of the next to follow in the footsteps of the greats before him. Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker, two other key contributors to the 2024 Olympic team, were also early selections to become the team’s principal “captains”.

Maybe it’s the Olympic love in the air from this year’s Winter Games, but it doesn’t seem like there will be any major changes or a changing of the guard for Team USA just yet, especially after Durant made clear his stance on playing in Los Angeles to ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill.

“You guys, the media, have speculated,” Durant told ESPN about the story of Paris being the veteran athlete’s last Olympic race. “Where did that narrative, the last dance thing, come from? I didn’t say I wasn’t playing. LeBron said he wasn’t playing. You didn’t hear that from me or Steph.”

As far as actually playing, Durant’s answer was simple.

“Yeah, I want to play,” Durant said. “Today, yes, I feel like I’m going to put my name in that hat.”

Well, that settles the matter. Kevin Durant, who will be 39 years old and set to turn 40 in the summer of 2028, wants to play for the Stars and Stripes in the 2028 Olympics. Assuming he’s healthy and obviously doesn’t change his mind, Durant will be the team captain and take one of the 12 coveted roster spots to defend the gold medal in front of the American faithful.

Durant is very proud of American basketball and made his stance on USA vs. the World clear to ESPN.

“I don’t like to talk about the United States versus the European style of how you approach the game,” Durant explained. “‘France is coming for you.’ really? We beat up those boys.”

Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been the faces of basketball’s rapid evolution around the world, but USA Basketball continues to dominate on the world’s biggest stage every four years. Once again, Team USA will enter the 2028 Olympics as the favorites to win the gold medal, and Durant is ready to make that dream come true once again.

Whether Curry will join them is still a big question mark.

Will Stephen Curry join Kevin Durant in 2028?

Before 2024, Steph Curry has experienced basically everything possible in a Hall of Fame career.

He broke the league’s all-time 3-point record, won four NBA championships, led the league in scoring twice, won two MVP awards (one of which was the first unanimous selection), and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. But the one empty spot in Curry’s massive trophy cabinet was an Olympic gold medal.

Although he played for Team USA at the World Cup, Steph actually pushed to play in the 2024 Olympics, and he was one of the leading voices along with LeBron and Durant to get the best on this roster.

“Personally, it’s something I haven’t been able to experience: being an Olympian,” Curry told Endscape ahead of the 2024 Olympics. “Hopefully we win a gold medal. At this point in my career, it gives me a chance to be present in the moment and enjoy playing basketball. It’s a pure expression of the game.”

The United States won the gold medal as Curry expected, and he was the main reason the team defeated France in the gold medal game. If not for Curry’s heroics and iconic shots from the perimeter, Team USA would not have won the gold medal.

“It was the most surreal feeling, especially the way it ended,” Curry told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II after the 2024 Olympics. “I felt like a kid again. A 12 out of 10 experience.”

If Curry had so much fun playing in Paris and winning a gold medal, what will it be like to play in Los Angeles and do it again next to Durant? Although LeBron will most likely not be on the team, there is a roster spot for Steph if he wants.

He will be 40 by the time the next Olympics begins, which is why it is too early to speculate about whether Curry will actually consider playing in the 2028 Summer Games. Ultimately, this will be a decision based on Steph’s overall health that year and where he is in his career, especially with the finish line on the horizon.

Durant clearly wants to play, and his words show he wants Steph out there with him, too. For now, we’ll assume that both of these legends will take the United States off their chest at least one more time, leaving 10 spots open for the remaining pool of American players.

Prediction of remaining players of 12-man Olympic roster

If we assume both Durant and Curry will lead Team USA at the 2028 Olympics, who else will be on this roster?

Edwards and Booker, as mentioned earlier, will hold their spots as long as they are healthy. Both stars played integral roles following Curry and Durant in Paris, and they will likely play bigger roles as they enter the primes of their respective careers in 2028.

Flagg is another safe choice, as he’s coming off his third NBA season and is better than ever. After practicing with Team USA in 2024, everyone involved with the program was already raving that he would one day lead the Americans.

Another guard who will likely receive one of the first calls up to play in Los Angeles is Cade Cunningham. Not only has he established himself as one of the best players in the East with the Detroit Pistons, but Cunningham has turned himself into a legitimate MVP candidate. Between his playmaking and scoring abilities off the dribble, Cunningham is the perfect guard for Olympic play.

This leaves six more spots open, some of which need to be filled with frontcourt talent.

Bam Adebayo is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, and is considered one of the best defensive centers in the world. He will be 31 by the time the next Olympic Games begin, and Adebayo will likely be the starting center for the Americans.

Even with the addition of Adebayo, USA Basketball will need even more height to match Wembanyama and other tall European players, which makes Chet Holmgren a viable option to make his Team USA debut after playing in the FUBA Under-19 Championship.

There is a very clear rivalry growing in the NBA between Holmgren and Wembanyama, and the Oklahoma City Thunder big man is one of the best rim protectors in the world.

The final center spot shouldn’t go to anyone other than Jalen Duren right now. In his fourth NBA season, Duren has become an All-Star big man with his toughness in the paint on both ends of the floor. Duran’s athleticism is evident when watching the international game, especially with his pick-and-roll connection with Cunningham.

There are three spots left, and with Erik Spoelstra replacing Steve Kerr on the sideline, he will want a strong, two-way player on the wing. Enter Jaylen Brown, who has already declared himself the best two-way player in the world and has taken his game to new heights since winning the 2024 Finals MVP.

Brown can score and defend like a top-10 player in the world, which is why he would be one of the key names on Team USA’s roster if the Olympics were starting right now.

Needing at least one more wing who can defend and score, Scottie Barnes stands out. Not only is Barnes viewed as one of the best all-around defenders in the league, but he serves as a “point forward” who can do a little bit of everything on the floor. With his quick instincts as a defender and ability to push the pace, Team USA will have the youth and athletic ability needed to keep up with the rest of the world.

And eventually, one spot is left, and it becomes very difficult to choose from all the remaining talent.

Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum were both on the 2024 Olympic team, but both players suffered major Achilles injuries in the 2025 playoffs. Jalen Johnson and Jalen Williams are two young forwards on the rise, but are they ready to help the country win a gold medal? Then there are All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey who will compete for spots.

If the Olympics were today, I would give Mitchell this last spot for two major reasons: dynamic scoring and perimeter shooting.

We saw how important it was for Curry and others to hit threes in the big time in the 2024 Olympics, and Mitchell is sixth in the NBA with 667 threes over the past three years. He is one of the best offensive players off the dribble in the NBA, and Mitchell’s unselfish play will be needed on this team.

So this is our initial projection for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics:

• Guard: Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell
• Wing: Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Scottie Barnes, Cooper Flagg
• elder: Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Duren

Of course, this is not the official Team USA roster, and we’re likely to see some big changes over the next two years before the Summer Games in Los Angeles. Who knows whether Curry will actually play, and health could clearly impact the status of any player competing for a USA Basketball roster spot.

Needless to mention, this year’s 2026 NBA Draft class has a chance to be one of the most historic in league history. Darin Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ DiBantsa, Caleb Wilson and Kingston Flemings, among others, could easily make their mark on the NBA like Flagg and earn their spots on the Olympic team.

After all, age matters in the Olympics, and the roster is usually made up of players in their mid- to late 20s. Obviously, the 2024 Olympics was a unique event, because the average age of the new-age “Dream Team” assembled by James, Durant and Curry was 30.1 years old.

The Team USA roster in 2028 will be much younger, faster and more athletic. If Durant and Curry are to lead this team and defend their gold medals one last time, we should expect to see a group of 12 players that resembles the fantasy team assembled above.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics over, the countdown to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has officially begun.