Arguably one of the marquee events of the Olympic competition is the men's basketball category, and the spotlight is always certain to shine on the USA Basketball team entirely made up of NBA players. Since 1988 after a loss at the Seoul Olympics, the decision was then made to cast professional NBA ballplayers into the Olympic Games. The International Basketball Federation, better known as FIBA, agreed in April 1989 to allow the professionals to play in the Olympics, despite American and Russian votes against the proposal.
The arrival of the "Dream Team" was heralded, as Sports Illustrated was the first to nickname the American roster the "Dream Team" on the cover of its February 18, 1991 issue. The team featured NBA elites Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, David Robinson and others and they produced a level of excitement not just among the viewing audiences but also among the other Olympic athletes within the Olympic Village as well.
USA Basketball history and the 1998 men's national team
The USA Basketball Men’s National Team, often known as Team USA, is composed of top-tier basketball players who represent the United States in international competitions such as the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Olympic Games. The formation and player selection process for the team is a well-planned and highly competitive endeavor.
The team is formed under the auspices of USA Basketball, the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization is responsible for selecting and training men’s and women’s teams for international competitions.
The selection process involves a combination of performance, skill level, and the needs of the team to compete effectively on the international stage. The player pool typically includes NBA players, and the final roster is chosen by the USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director, with approval from the USA Basketball Board of Directors12.
For the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the team was announced on April 17, 2024, and includes a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars. Notable players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are part of the roster, bringing a wealth of experience and skill to the team.
The team’s composition reflects a strategic balance of positions, playing styles, and the versatility needed to face the diverse challenges posed by international teams. The selected players are expected to commit to the team’s training schedule and participate in pre-tournament exhibition games leading up to the main event. The USA Basketball Men’s National Team has a storied history of success, with numerous Olympic gold medals and FIBA World Cup titles to its name.
Introducing the 2024 USA Basketball Men's National Team
Names of international players and team affiliation
The NBA has a significant number of international players who hail from various countries and may represent those nations in FIBA or Olympic competitions. The recent player list below is ordered by country (in alphabetical order), player name, NBA team affiliation. Here are some notable examples:
Angola –– Bruno Fernando –– Atlanta Hawks
Australia –– Patty Mills –– Atlanta Hawks
Australia –– Ben Simmons –– Brooklyn Nets
Australia –– Josh Green –– Dallas Mavericks
Australia –– Kyrie Irving –– Dallas Mavericks
Australia –– Danté Exum –– Dallas Mavericks
Australia –– Jock Landale –– Houston Rockets
Australia –– Dyson Daniels –– New Orleans Pelicans
Australia –– Josh Giddey –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Australia –– Joe Ingles –– Orlando Magic
Austria –– Jakob Poeltl –– Toronto Raptors
Bahamas –– Buddy Hield –– Indiana Pacers
Bahamas –– Deandre Ayton (Ties to Nigeria) –– Portland Trail Blazers
Belgium –– Toumani Camara –– Portland Trail Blazers
Bosnia and Herzegovina –– Jusuf Nurkić –– Phoenix Suns
British Virgin Islands –– D’Moi Hodge –– Los Angeles Lakers
Bulgaria –– Sasha Vezenkov –– Sacramento Kings
Cameroon –– Joel Embiid –– Philadelphia 76ers
Cameroon –– Christian Koloko –– Toronto Raptors
Cameroon –– Pascal Siakam –– Toronto Raptors
Canada –– Dalano Banton –– Boston Celtics
Canada –– Oshae Brissett –– Boston Celtics
Canada –– Tristan Thompson –– Cleveland Cavaliers
Canada –– AJ Lawson –– Dallas Mavericks
Canada –– Dwight Powell –– Dallas Mavericks
Canada –– Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Ties to Haiti) –– Dallas Mavericks
Canada –– Jamal Murray –– Denver Nuggets
Canada –– Cory Joseph (Ties to Trinidad and Tobago) –– Golden State Warriors
Canada –– Andrew Wiggins –– Golden State Warriors
Canada –– Dillon Brooks –– Houston Rockets
Canada –– Andrew Nembhard –– Indiana Pacers
Canada –– Bennedict Mathurin ( Ties to Haiti) –– Indiana Pacers
Canada –– Joshua Primo –– LA Clippers
Canada –– Brandon Clarke –– Memphis Grizzlies
Canada –– Lindell Wigginton –– Milwaukee Bucks
Canada –– Nickeil Alexander-Walker –– Minnesota Timberwolves
Canada –– Leonard Miller –– Minnesota Timberwolves
Canada –– RJ Barrett –– New York Knicks
Canada –– Luguentz Dort –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Canada –– Caleb Houstan –– Orlando Magic
Canada –– Shaedon Sharpe –– Portland Trail Blazers
Canada –– Trey Lyles –– Sacramento Kings
Canada –– Charles Bediako (Ties to Ghana) –– San Antonio Spurs
Canada –– Kelly Olynyk –– Utah Jazz
Canada –– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Canada –– Eugene Omoruyi (Ties to Nigeria) –– Washington Wizards
Croatia –– Bojan Bogdanović –– Detroit Pistons
Croatia –– Dario Šarić –– Golden State Warriors
Croatia –– Ivica Zubac –– LA Clippers
Croatia –– Luka Šamanić –– Utah Jazz
Democratic Republic of the Congo –– Jonathan Kuminga –– Golden State Warriors
Democratic Republic of the Congo –– Oscar Tshiebwe –– Indiana Pacers
Dominican Republic –– Al Horford –– Boston Celtics
Dominican Republic –– Chris Duarte –– Sacramento Kings
Finland –– Lauri Markkanen –– Utah Jazz
France –– Théo Maledon –– Charlotte Hornets
France –– Frank Ntilikina (Ties to Belgium and Rwanda) –– Charlotte Hornets
France –– Malcolm Cazalon –– Detroit Pistons
France –– Killian Hayes –– Detroit Pistons
France –– Moussa Diabate (Ties to Guinea and Mali) –– LA Clippers
France –– Nicolas Batum (Ties to Cameroon) –– LA Clippers
France –– Rudy Gobert –– Minnesota Timberwolves
France –– Evan Fournier (Ties to Algeria) –– New York Knicks
France –– Ousmane Dieng (Ties to Senegal) –– Oklahoma City Thunder
France –– Olivier Sarr (Ties to Senegal) –– Oklahoma City Thunder
France –– Rayan Rupert –– Portland Trail Blazers
France –– Victor Wembanyama (Ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo) –– San Antonio Spurs
France –– Sidy Cissoko (Ties to Senegal) –– San Antonio Spurs
France –– Bilal Coulibaly (Ties to Mali) –– Washington Wizards
Georgia –– Goga Bitadze –– Orlando Magic
Georgia –– Sandro Mamukelashvili –– San Antonio Spurs
Germany –– Maxi Kleber –– Dallas Mavericks
Germany –– Daniel Theis –– Indiana Pacers
Germany –– Isaiah Hartenstein –– New York Knicks
Germany –– Dennis Schröder (Ties to The Gambia) –– Toronto Raptors
Germany –– Franz Wagner –– Orlando Magic
Germany –– Moritz Wagner –– Orlando Magic
Greece –– Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Ties to Nigeria) –– Milwaukee Bucks
Greece –– Giannis Antetokounmpo (Ties to Nigeria) –– Milwaukee Bucks
Israel –– Deni Avdija –– Washington Wizards
Italy –– Simone Fontecchio –– Utah Jazz
Italy –– Danilo Gallinari –– Washington Wizards
Jamaica –– Nick Richards –– Charlotte Hornets
Japan –– Rui Hachimura (Ties to Benin) –– Los Angeles Lakers
Japan –– Yuta Watanabe –– Phoenix Suns
Latvia –– Kristaps Porziņģis –– Boston Celtics
Latvia –– Dāvis Bertāns –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Lithuania –– Jonas Valančiūnas –– New Orleans Pelicans
Lithuania –– Azuolas Tubelis –– Philadelphia 76ers
Lithuania –– Domantas Sabonis –– Sacramento Kings
Mali –– Adama Sanogo –– Chicago Bulls
Montenegro –– Nikola Vučević –– Chicago Bulls
New Zealand –– Steven Adams –– Memphis Grizzlies
Nigeria –– Josh Okogie –– Phoenix Suns
Nigeria Udoka Azubuike –– Phoenix Suns
Nigeria Charles Bassey –– San Antonio Spurs
Nigeria –– Precious Achiuwa –– Toronto Raptors
Nigeria –– Chimezie Metu –– Phoenix Suns
Portugal –– Neemias Queta –– Boston Celtics
Senegal –– Mouhamed Gueye –– Atlanta Hawks
Serbia –– Bogdan Bogdanović –– Atlanta Hawks
Serbia –– Nikola Jokić –– Denver Nuggets
Serbia –– Boban Marjanović –– Houston Rockets
Serbia –– Nikola Jović –– Miami Heat
Serbia –– Aleksej Pokuševski –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Serbia –– Vasilije Micić –– Oklahoma City Thunder
Serbia –– Filip Petrušev –– Philadelphia 76ers
Slovenia –– Vlatko Čančar –– Denver Nuggets
Slovenia –– Luka Dončić –– Dallas Mavericks
South Sudan –– Duop Reath –– Portland Trail Blazers
Spain –– Ricky Rubio –– Cleveland Cavaliers
Spain –– Usman Garuba (Ties to Nigeria) –– Golden State Warriors
Spain –– Santi Aldama –– Memphis Grizzlies
St. Lucia –– Chris Boucher (Ties to Canada) –– Toronto Raptors
Sudan –– Bol Bol –– Phoenix Suns
Switzerland –– Clint Capela (Ties to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) –– Atlanta Hawks
Turkey –– Onuralp Bitim –– Chicago Bulls
Turkey –– Alperen Şengün –– Houston Rockets
Turkey –– Furkan Korkmaz –– Philadelphia 76ers
Turkey –– Cedi Osman –– San Antonio Spurs
Turkey –– Ömer Yurtseven –– Utah Jazz
Ukraine –– Svi Mykhailiuk –– Boston Celtics
Ukraine –– Alex Len –– Sacramento Kings
United Kingdom –– Jeremy Sochan (Ties to Poland) –– San Antonio Spurs
United Kingdom –– OG Anunoby (Ties to Nigeria) –– Toronto Raptors
USA Basketball official Twitter
A Twitter List by CoolFireTech
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SOURCES:
USA Basketball unveils 2016 Olympic team roster (NBA Official Release, June 27, 2016)
www.nba.com/2016/news/06/27/team-usa-roster-for-2016-olympics-announced-official-release/
1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_men%27s_Olympic_basketball_team
Olympics will feature NBA talent well beyond USA roster, by John Schumann (NBA.com, July 30, 2016)
www.nba.com/2016/news/features/john_schuhmann/07/25/international-nba-players-on-olympic-rosters-rio-2016/
NBA rosters feature record 125 international players from 40 countries (NBA Official Release, October 24, 2023)
www.nba.com/news/nba-international-players-2023-24
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The presence of NBA Basketball players across International Olympic basketball rosters