"Cooper Flagg coming ... Cam Boozer, Kiyan Anthony": Jim Boeheim names LeBron James, Steph Curry & Kevin Durant's successors for Team USA at Olympics

Former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has been thinking about the future of the United States mens basketball team. At the weekend, the team won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics after defeating the hosts, France, in the final.

The team featured some of the NBA's greatest-ever players, like LeBron James, Kevin Durrant and Steph Curry. The team has been compared to the famous 'Dream Team' of the 1992 Barcelona games.

With the Olympics now over, thoughts turn to the 2028 games, with the United States hoping to retain their gold medal on home soil. The 2028 team is likely to be without the stars of the current team, but Boeheim believes that this will not be a problem for the United States.

The former coach told NBA Radio on SirusXM, before the gold medal game on Saturday, that:

“I’m not worried about our game, I think we’re still going to be there. A guy like Cooper Flagg coming, some of these young players coming out the next couple years are really good. We haven’t had these guys, the kid AJ Dybantsa there, the big Boozer kid [Cam Boozer], Carlos’ son. There are some really good players coming along.”

Cooper Flagg is widely predicted to be one of college basketball's best players this season. The freshman, who has not yet turned 18, was dominant in high school and is predicted to be a star for the Duke Blue Devils this season, before heading to the NBA.

In four years' time, Flagg will only be 21 years old and has the potential to lead his country to victory at a home Olympics. Playing for the national team is something that Flagg has been thinking about. He told The Atlantic that playing for the United States national team is part of his plans.

“That’s something I’m striving for, just trying to be the best I can and, if I can achieve that, and then join the World Cup team in two years, I mean, that’s another goal on my list. I’m just working and trying to get better every day.”

However, it is not just Cooper Flagg who will be a future replacement for the likes of Curry and James.

Boeheim highlighted both Cam Boozer and AJ Dybantsa also. These two players are going to enter college in 2025 and are likely to be top prospects for the NBA Draft in 2026.

These three players, alongside other young talents in the USA's basketball circuit, suggest that the country is going to remain atop the basketball world for years to come.

Jim Boeheim predicts where the next international powerhouse will come from

However, Boeheim has also spoken about the international growth of basketball and where the next great non-American talent is going to come from.

The basketball world is currently seeing France as that country. The national team won the silver medal at the Olympics and has the likes of Victor Wembanyama in their ranks.

Additionally, France had three players drafted in the top 10 of the 2024 NBA Draft, which included the top two players (Zacchaire Risacher and Alex Sarr).

However, Boeheim thinks that the next international powerhouse is not going to be France, but a whole continent. He told SiriusXM:

"It will probably take longer than 10 years, but in 20 years, African players will dominate international basketball. They’re untouched, they’re just getting a little bit of balls and courts over there, not much but they’re getting it. But there’s an unbelievable untapped talent going to come out of Africa in the future.”

This can be backed up by the fact that South Sudan defeated the United States prior to the Olympics. While they did not have the best games in Paris, they are an improving side that, with time, will be able to compete with the rest of the world.