USA Basketball has released the list of 30 names that are finalists to be among the 12 that'll be on the Olympic team. There are some no-brainers (LeBron, Steph Curry), but it'll be interesting to see who fills out the roster.
We know Kobe won't be there. He's making his retirement official once the Lakers' season ends. Which he should. I'm glad he's taking it out of Coach K's hands, too. Another Olympic gold would've put a nice bow on his career, but Kobe's not the player he once was. He's certainly not one of the top 12 American players at this point in time. But the sentimentality of it and the potential uproar over not taking him, whether he deserved a place on the team or not (as if Mike Krzyzewski cares about that) would've been ridiculous. I'm glad we won't have to deal with that.
So who will be on the men's Olympic basketball team? Once again, several of the spots seem fairly obvious. Nike might as well ask them what number they want and start selling the jerseys now. The only thing that will keep LeBron, Steph Curry, Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant out of Rio would be injury. You can probably add Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis and Chris Paul to that group, and I'd be very surprised if Chris Paul and Dwight Howard weren't on the team.
That's nine roster spots, which leaves us with three. And knowing Mike Krzyzewski and the way he's constructed the last two Olympic teams, those spots will go to the guys who best fit the roles he needs them to fill...not necessarily the best players. With that being said, I like Andre Igoudala to grab one of those three spots. Igoudala was on the team in London, and he's proven to be a very valuable member of that Warriors lineup. He'd be a bench guy in Rio and would probably accept that role with no complaints.
For some reason, I like Rudy Gay, too. He just seems like the perfect guy to be that extra shooting guard/small forward you may need but likely won't need to rely on. Which leaves us with one remaining roster spot. It's a toss up between Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Love. Love was on the gold medal-winning team in 2012, but I think I'd actually prefer Leonard. James Harden seems unlikely to make the Rio team, but you still need that Harden type of player. And I think Leonard fits the bill more than Love does.
With that, here's my men's roster headed to Rio in August:
Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, Andre Igoudala, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
On the women's side, things seem just as clear cut. It would be easy for Geno to pick a team made up exclusively of former UConn players--and that team would still probably win the gold medal--but you know that won't be the case. At the very least, Brittany Griner and Candace Parker will be there.
You know the women's team will be very UConn heavy, though. And, frankly, it should be. One of the reasons UConn is so dominant is because they have the best players. It would make sense that the UConn players continue to be the best ones at the professional level. Besides, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore have become such U.S. National Team stalwarts that it's impossible to envision an Olympic squad that doesn't include them. Especially since this will likely be Bird's Olympic swan song, and probably Taurasi's, as well.
I've only got five UConn Huskies on the final roster. In addition to the Big Three, it's difficult to picture an Olympic team that doesn't include Breanna Stewart. When all is said and done, she may go down as the greatest women's college player ever, and she'll be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. Stewart might not play that much in Rio (there are so many dominant post players in the U.S. it's ridiculous), but she's going to be an important part of the U.S. National Team for years to come. It's important for her to come see what this is all about. Just like it was important for LeBron and Melo to get that first Olympic experience out of the way during the Athens debacle 12 years ago.
Tina Charles is the fifth UConn player (five and a half if you count Elena Delle Donne). Along with Charles, Sylvia Fowles, Angel McCoughtry and Tamika Catchings have been key members of the U.S. National Team for a long time. Unless something drastic happens, they'll all be in Rio.
All we've got left is the backup point guard. It's been Lindsay Whalen's job for a while, but she'll definitely have some competition. Odyssey Sims is a star in the making, and she was on the team that won gold at the 2014 World Championships. Sims beat out Skylar Diggins for the final spot on that roster. I think the roles will reverse this time. Skylar is motivated by that snub and is determined to make the Olympic team. They'll both be on plenty of U.S National Teams in the future, but it looks like there'll only be room for one in Rio. I'm taking Diggins, but either one would be a fine choice.
Looking to extend that 41-game Olympic winning streak, here are the 12 American women I'm sending to Rio:
Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins, Sylvia Fowles, Brittany Griner, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi
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