Shaquille O'Neal lays bare crucial factor on why Team USA won't win gold in 2028 LA Olympics
This summer, Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the NBA community watched on as Team USA captured gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The team, led by LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, went undefeated both throughout pre-Olympic international friendly games and the Olympics. The way Shaquille O'Neal sees things, though, 2028 will be a different story.
While the 2028 Olympics are set to take place in Los Angeles in the US, Shaquille O'Neal believes that Team USA won't win gold. With LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant expected to be retired by then, O'Neal thinks that the rest of the world will give Team USA problems.
So far, Team USA has only come up short of the Olympic gold on three occasions. In 1972, before professional players could compete, Team USA took silver in Munich. Then, in 1988, before professionals could compete at the Olympics, Team USA took home the bronze in Seoul.
Most recently, in 2004, Team USA captured bronze in Athens, sparking the famous 2008 Redeem Team that won gold in Beijing. Shaquille O'Neal reckons another bronze or silver medal is likely in 2028, saying in an interview with Sport Bild:
"Europe has caught up, is just behind and will soon overtake the USA. I'm sure the US won't take gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. LeBron James will no longer play, and Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will.
"Probably Joel Embiid will no longer be there. Then it's over with the supremacy. The European teams are really good. Croatia, Serbia, also Germany!"
Looking at the projected 2028 Team USA roster following Shaquille O'Neal's bold prediction
After Team USA led by LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant captured gold in Paris this summer, projected rosters for the 2028 LA Olympics have begun to emerge.
Assuming Shaquille O'Neal is right and James, Curry and Durant are all retired by 2028, Team USA will have some big shoes to fill. Many of the following players could make up the team:
- Bam Adebayo
- Devin Booker
- Anthony Edwards
- Jayson Tatum
- Derrick White
- Tyrese Haliburton
That leaves another six roster spots open. While Jaylen Brown was excluded from the 2024 roster, there's a very good chance that he will wind up on the 2028 Team USA roster as long as he doesn't burn any bridges after he was snubbed from this summer's roster.
Moreover, Paolo Banchero, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mikal Bridges are all likely to be selected given their age and two-way play, which leaves three roster spots on the team open.
NBA.com names Cade Cunningham, De'Aaron Fox and Chet Holmgren as potential candidates, but if Ja Morant is able to prove that he can stay out of trouble, it wouldn't be surprising to see him on the roster, given his scoring abilities.
At the same time, one player who isn't currently in the NBA but made waves with the Team USA select team this summer is Cooper Flagg. Although he could get his feet wet in the NBA by the time the 2028 Olympics roll around, given that he impressed this summer, he could wind up on the roster.
Whether or not Shaquille O'Neal's prediction for the group comes out to be true, only time will tell.