Projecting the 2028 and 2032 Team USA men's Olympic squads without Curry, James, or Durant

In the semifinals and finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics for men’s basketball, we watched Stephen Curry rain down 3-pointers like few others in the history of the sport have ever done.

Throughout the entire tournament, we witnessed LeBron James continue to display unprecedented longevity in his dominance of this game.

For the last four Olympic games, Kevin Durant has been un-guardable on his way to becoming the all-time leading scorer in Olympics history for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

This trio of first-ballot Hall of Famers has largely defined the modern era of basketball and made up the three leading scorers on this year’s gold medal roster. This latest achievement only further cements their legacy in this game.

And yet … the sheer volume of career accolades can partially be attributed to the longevity of their careers. Though they continue to hold off Father Time as few others have before, Curry (36), James (39), and Durant (35), are nevertheless coming to a point where an Olympics run four years from now cannot be considered a foregone conclusion.

Without them, what could the U.S. Men’s National Team roster look like in Los Angeles in the 2028 games?

The easiest place to start is with the roster that just took gold.

Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum are the most talented two-way players who should still be well within their primes in 2028. Both Booker (this year’s ‘unsung MVP’) and Tatum are now two-time Olympic gold medalists, while Edwards’s star just continues to rise. We’re going to take them as easy inclusions.

In addition, there seem to be two more relatively easy fits: Bam Adebayo, one of the most versatile defenders in the world, and Tyrese Haliburton, who is one of the most prolific floor generals in the American pool.

Beyond that, the age of the rest of the team makes things a little dicey. In this prediction, we’re going to assume that Jrue Holiday will be sitting out and that Joel Embiid will be looking to reduce wear and tear at age 34 after earning his first gold medal.

From there, we’re going to bring back Anthony Davis and Derrick White as veteran leaders and fierce defenders. Davis ended up closing the gold medal game against France and White is the ultimate glue guy on any team. Team USA needs to be able to dominate the defensive end, and these two are as good as it gets.

That leaves us five roster spots for a slew of amazing talent.

Jaylen Brown, 2024 NBA Finals MVP will join this roster after hopefully patching things up with USA Basketball, providing a huge wing with defensive versatility and scoring prowess. He, White, and Edwards will be charged with hounding opposing ball handlers up and down the court.

Chet Holmgren will be the final big man on this squad to provide a true five-out spacing option with elite rim protection ability. At age 26 with presumably some extra bulk on his frame, he will be a nightmare matchup for most teams.

Tyrese Maxey is the final guard added to the list. His amazing combination of speed, shooting, and ball control will offer a change of pace from the pick-and-roll heavy style of Haliburton.

The last two spots are going to involve a bit of projection with young up-and-comers. Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who played will as a youngster in FIBA play in 2023 provides scoring versatility and size to play with many lineup combinations. Thunder wing Jalen Williams, in contention for Most Improved Player in 2023-24, can also provide relentless defensive pressure and deadeye long rang shooting.

Projected 2028 Olympic Roster

Guards: Tyrese Haliburton, Derrick White, Tyrese Maxey, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker

Forwards: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams

Centers: Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren

Do we want to get crazy and talk 2032?

This is eight years out, so who knows what will happen. But here’s a stab at what the U.S. could look like:

Guards: Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham

Forwards: Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams, Jabari Smith Jr., Cooper Flagg

Centers: Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren, Evan Mobley

This roster keeps as many holdovers as age will allow, with Adebayo (35) and Tatum (34) being the veteran elder statesmen at this point, while Haliburton and Edwards continue to lead the offense from the backcourt.

With Adebayo, a beefed-up Holmgren and Evan Mobley, as well as more young, long athletes in Jabari Smith Jr. and Cooper Flagg, points will be hard to come by against this squad.

More scoring and playmaking will also come from Maxey, Banchero, and Williams, while newcomer Cade Cunningham will have ascended to earn his stock as a number one overall pick as a do-it-all wing.

The rest of the world is catching up ... and Team USA will be getting all they can handle from international squads in the coming years; basketball as a global sport is here to stay.