Top 5 NBA stars who will make their Olympic debut this year
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are less than three weeks away, and NBA star Luka Doncic's Slovenia were the latest to qualify as they defeated Lithuania 96-85 on July 4th. All groups for basketball are now set after the qualifying round for un-ranked teams finished on Sunday.
It will be their first-ever appearance at the Olympics, making it Doncic's debut appearance at the quadrennial tournament.
Multiple other NBA stars will be seen donning their national team jerseys for the first time at the Olympics this year. On that note, let's take a look at the five biggest stars from the NBA, set to make their debut appearances in the Olympics, including Luka Doncic.
Which top 5 NBA stars are making their Olympics debut this year?
#5 Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal had yet another terrific year individually. He got his first call-up to the All-Star game as a starter, while also earning his first All-NBA honors. He was second behind Stephen Curry in the scoring charts for the 2020-21 NBA season, averaging a career-best 31.3 points.
Beal passed on the opportunity to potentially play for Team USA at the Rio Olympics in 2016 due to health concerns. He hadn't played a full season with the Washington Wizards until then, which factored in his decision not to play in the Olympics that year.
However, he was one of the first few stars to commit to playing for Team USA in the Olympics this time around. Beal and the Wizards endured an early exit in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, which gave him a good amount of rest and the opportunity to play for the national team.
He will likely start as the shooting guard alongside Damian Lillard in the backcourt.
#4 Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum is no stranger to donning the USA jersey. He featured in the 2019 FIBA world championship. Team USA sent a young squad back then that could only manage a seventh-place finish.
This time around, though, Tatum will be going into an international tournament with a much better squad, with seasoned campaigners like Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Kevin Love.
It will be his first Olympics campaign. Tatum will likely come off the bench for either of the potential starting forwards Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
The Boston Celtics star had a terrific NBA season, during which he amassed a career-high 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He also recorded three 50-point games (two in the regular season, one in the playoffs), including a career-best 60-points game.