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Despite most players' seasons having ended or will soon be, there are a select few who will be competing for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer. The games officially begin on the 23rd of July after having been delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a shortened offseason prior to the 2020-21 campaign, several top NBA players have chosen to skip the event and focus on their training schedules and having some time away from the game.
Nevertheless, this week USA basketball announced its 12-man roster and coaching staff who will represent the country. Of course, due to the wealth of talent America has, the squad is still stacked and Team USA should expect to bring home another gold medal.
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Team USA's roster announcement was headlined by Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant. The 32-year-old is now a three-time Olympian and is coming off arguably the best playoff series performance of his career.
Durant averaged 35.4 points and 10.6 rebounds as he took the Nets to the verge of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Against him in that series were two other Olympians for the Team USA side, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Both have been instrumental in helping the Milwaukee Bucks reach the Conference Finals.
Middleton has averaged his highest postseason point tally of 22.7 per night along with eight rebounds while Holiday is dishing out eight assists per game while grabbing 1.3 steals and 16 points.
Middleton and Holiday are not the only players still competing for an NBA championship and who will have to join Team USA just in time for the games to begin.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker has also been confirmed as a member of the roster. The shooting guard has been terrific in his first playoffs, averaging 27 points and six rebounds per game. He has shot at over 90% from the free-throw line and made 44% of field-goal efforts.
Along with Holiday and Booker in the backcourt, Team USA have plenty of guard options at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Two of the best shooters in the league are making the trip - Damian Lillard and Zach LaVine.
While Lillard will want to focus on his basketball in Japan, there will still be plenty of rumors surrounding his future with the Trail Blazers back home. The Portland point guard was, once again, electric in the playoffs but failed to carry his side past the first-round - despite averaging 34.3 points and 10 assists.
LaVine's future, meanwhile, is also up in the air after the Chicago Bulls failed to make the postseason. The 26-year-old was lethal from the floor this year, averaging 27 points per game and racking up shooting splits of 50-41-85.
At center, Team USA will likely line up with either Bam Adebayo or Kevin Love as small-ball options. Adebayo had another successful campaign with the Miami Heat and while they struggled in the playoffs and during the season, the 23-year-old was one of coach Erik Spoelstra's most-consistent players.
Love, meanwhile, did not have as good a season as he would have hoped with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The multi-purpose forward looked frustrated at times as the side finished with a 22-50 record and could join Adebayo down in Florida if trade rumors are to be believed.
Three quarters of Team USA is made up of Eastern Conference stars, with Bradley Beal, Jerami Grant and Jayson Tatum also in the side.
Beal is another elite shooting option on the roster, running Steph Curry incredibly close for the scoring title this year after averaging over 31 points per game. Alongside Russell Westbrook, he helped carry the Washington Wizards into the playoffs against all the odds and against most analysts' expectations.
He could be joined on the frontcourt by either Grant or Tatum. Grant had a breakout year for the Detroit Pistons and almost won the Most Improved Player of the Year award. The versatile forward put up 22 points per game as he became the team's focal option on offense for the first time in his NBA career.
Tatum also continued to improve and appeared in his second NBA All-Star game in March. The Boston Celtics forward continued his consistent shooting from the field and stunned the league when he scored 50 and 40 points in back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets in their playoff series.
Team USA is rounded off by three-time champion and former Defensive Player of the Year, Draymond Green. The veteran forward had another excellent season for the Warriors as a mentor for their young talent and as the right-hand man for Steph Curry's heroics.
Leading Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be a star-studded coaching setup. The head coach will be Gregg Popovich, a five-time NBA champion as coach of the San Antonio Spurs, while his assistants will be Steve Kerr (eight-time champion), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (2-time NCAA champion with Villanova).
Possible lineups for Team USA
The versatility and depth of talent on the Team USA roster gives Gregg Popovich and co. plenty of options for their starting lineup. They could pile into offense against weaker opponents and start Damian Lillard and Zach LaVine in the backcourt, with Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo and Bradley Beal in the frontcourt.
Realistically though, Team USA will be well balanced on the floor, particularly as the tournament progresses. Kevin Durant and Draymond Green could prove the ideal forward pairing having won two championships together with the Warriors. Green's defensive leadership complements Durant's unique scoring ability.
In the backcourt for this lineup, they could start defensively-minded Jrue Holiday alongside a lethal scorer in Damian Lillard with Adebayo as the fifth.
Regardless of the lineup, Team USA is going to be very fun to watch. It is extremely rare to have a collection of the NBA's top talent in one team besides the All-Star weekend and they can expect to bring home their fourth consecutive gold medal.
