What will Team USA’s men’s basketball team look like at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?

The U.S. men’s basketball team won its fifth consecutive gold medal at the Paris Olympics. For all the debate about how the rest of the world has closed the gap with the sport’s home country, the Americans have lost only once at the Olympics since 2004, to France in Tokyo, a defeat they avenged.

The semi-finals and championship match of these Olympics were not a picnic. In 2028, Serbian Nikola Jokić will still be in his lowest form, assuming he doesn’t retire to devote himself full-time to horse racing, and 24-year-old Victor Wembanyama will be on the verge of winning God knows what for the French.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, among other aging veterans, are expected to leave Team USA, making way for the waves of talent that followed them to the NBA. It’s unclear if anyone will ever match any of them. What a treat to see three of the greatest players in NBA history create each other again on a meaningful stage.

At the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, there will be a new generation of veterans, a new generation of alphas to challenge them, and a new generation of new blood behind them. USA Basketball’s transition to its next era will open the door for other countries to step up on the international stage, but it’s the 12-man roster that will deliver a sixth straight gold medal in four years (like, in my current opinion, man)…

BALL MANIPULATORS

Haliburton began his journey with the USA basketball team as part of the 2019 FIBA ​​U19 World Cup team, before earning a spot on the 2021 All-Star team and the 2023 national team. After winning his first Olympic gold medal last weekend, the Pacers phenom summed up his experience in Paris on X perfectly:

While Haliburton has rarely played for this edition of Team USA, he will be in the prime of his career — and arguably the best passing guard alive — in 2028. He already led the league in assists per game (10.9) last season, when he carried the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals ahead of schedule.

Brunson was not selected to this year’s Olympic team after being part of Team USA’s fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup. Curry played most of the minutes at point guard. Jrue Holiday and the Celtics’ Derrick White also shared defensive duties at the position. The compression of a 12-man roster left little room.

But Brunson is the only point guard besides Luka Dončić to receive MVP votes last season, finishing fifth between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum. He is Team USA’s heir apparent at the position, restoring the Madison Square Garden star to glory. There are concerns about whether a 6-foot-2 player can be this productive in his early 30s, but as it stands, he’s a matchup ahead of Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Memphis’ Ja Morant, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.

After winning a gold medal, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr reminded us in Paris: “Devin Booker is an incredible basketball player…