USA Basketball released a preliminary roster on Monday of 44 names to be considered for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, and while LeBron James and Steph Curry are back in the fold for the national team, the list had some glaring omissions.
Notably, players like Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Carmelo Anthony, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and John Collins were left off the list entirely while Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, Marcus Smart and Derrick White were among the 44 players to receive camp invitations.
Gregg Popovich will once again coach the team alongside Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright. And sure, it’s never an easy task to name the best 44 American basketball players and expect everyone to be happy. But it’s pretty clear that Young, an All-Star starter averaging nearly 30 points per game, is more deserving than the Spurs’ backup point guard.
Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson — they're all on the @usabasketball 44-man preliminary roster for the Tokyo Olympics just officially announced … pic.twitter.com/Y6RzKfJer4
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 10, 2020
Even if Morant and Young weren’t going to get included on the final roster this year, you’d like to see USA Basketball work with the players who project to be the foundation of the national team going forward. They opted against that this time around, and plenty of basketball fans weren’t impressed.
Derrick White … again. Not everyone can make the Olympic team but there are at least a couple young American guards who you’re going to need in 2024/28 who aren’t represented here. Terrible. https://t.co/tzQDzmufsj
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) February 10, 2020
Trae Young, an even bigger snub! https://t.co/rknvz2StzE
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) February 10, 2020
How is LaVine not considered one of the top 44 US players? The disrespect is real around here. https://t.co/quSPl8dkPo
— Kevin Anderson (@Kevin_NBCS) February 10, 2020
Only logical reason as to why Zach Lavine isnt on here is because he declined.
No way in hell should Joe Harris, Kyle Kuzma, and Derrick White be considered before Lavine. https://t.co/v2DJTrUDNa
— Lake Joshua 🌊 (@BigBullJavi) February 10, 2020
The only Hawks representative for USA Basketball in 2020 is head coach Lloyd Pierce, who is an assistant coach again.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) February 10, 2020
Lunacy. @TheTraeYoung should absolutely be on the list of finalists. Here's who I'd remove from the team in favor of Trae: Joe Harris, Malcolm Brogdon, Andre Drummond, Montrezl Harrell, and Derrick White to name a few. Derrick White? Give me a break. https://t.co/xCF8DvdrXn
— Jason Sosnovsky (@JasonSosnovsky) February 10, 2020
Derrick White over Zach LaVine lmfao https://t.co/EmfMrQMNCF
— Battlehawks 1-0 (@Tony_Be) February 10, 2020
Interesting….. https://t.co/kNTq299p4N
— Ray Young (@rayfordyoung) February 10, 2020
Ummm I have to ask. Why are the following names even being considered for this team—
Dwight Howard
JaVale McGee
Derrick White
Harrison Barnes
Mason PlumleeI get they have to send out a lot of invites because some big names will say no, but these shouldn’t even be considered https://t.co/ps1L8jrJJZ
— Jordan (@Lower_Merion33) February 10, 2020
[jwplayer jNxcUdh7-q2aasYxh]
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