Which NBA stars have committed to playing for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics so far?
Team USA's dominance of international basketball has traditionally been driven by the NBA's status as the world's premier basketball league. However, things could be different and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Physically, the 2020-21 NBA season was perhaps one of the hardest in the history of the league. The ongoing campaign has seen a large number of players missing long stretches with injuries, with as many as 9 All-Stars missing games in the NBA Playoffs this time around.
With the 2021 NBA Playoffs still far from completion, stars participating in the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals are expected to have less than two weeks to prepare for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled to begin on July 23.
In such a scenario, players who have committed to play for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics would ideally belong to teams that did not manage deep runs in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
NBA stars who have committed to play for Team USA in Tokyo Olympics so far
So far, a total of 5 NBA stars have committed to Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, with the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler confirmed to have declined. The likes of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard will play in the Olympics for the first time.
Jayson Tatum participated in the 2019 World Cup but has never played in the Olympics. The only player with experience of playing in the Olympics who has committed to play in 2021 as well is Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, who won gold with Team USA at the 2016 Olympics.
Earlier, a 57-man preliminary list was released in March 2021, with a number of players expected to make a final decision in the coming weeks. This includes Stephen Curry as well, who has also never featured for Team USA in the Olympics. Curry was part of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup teams that previously won gold for Team USA, and is doubtful for the 2021 Olympics.
Regardless, a number of other players were earlier expected to commit, but the jam-packed NBA schedule has made it simply impossible. The likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have all led their teams to deep runs in the playoffs. They will not be able to recover quickly enough in order to play for Team USA in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
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