Phoenix Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are reported to be among the core group of players for Team USA at this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympics, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The USA Basketball roster this summer will round out to 12 players. Charania reports seven players, including Durant and Booker, that will be “the expected core.”
Per Charania:
“In USA Basketball’s recent discussions with stakeholders, Boston Celtics star guard, Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion Jrue Holiday, and Phoenix Suns All-NBA guard and Olympic gold winner Devin Booker are mentioned along with Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum as the expected core of the team barring injury, multiple NBA sources and sources close to the American team told The Athletic.”
Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are also under “strong” consideration for the roster, Charania adds.
Both Durant and Booker committed to wanting to play for Team USA back at Suns’ media day in October, and there really isn’t any reason at all to leave them off the roster besides injury if they are committed.
“I’ll do it” Devin Booker on playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics @BurnCitySports @BurnCitySuns
— Brendan Mau (@brendan_mau) October 2, 2023
Team USA finished in fourth place in last summer’s FIBA World Cup with arguably its worst roster this decade.
The 12-man 🇺🇸 #USABMNT roster for the 2023 @FIBAWC Aug. 25-Sept. 10! pic.twitter.com/3sP9R1ljM7
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 6, 2023
This summer, roster construction will not be a problem, as all of basketball’s biggest American stars are expected to compete.
Durant and Booker’s Team USA History
Here are the stats for Durant and Booker’s Team USA history with KD having one of the most decorated international careers ever:
Kevin Durant
- Teams:
- 2010 Turkey FIBA World Championship
- 2012 London Olympic Games
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
- 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympic Games
- Total Stats:
- 20.6 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 2.8 APG | 1.3 SPG | 0.7 BPG on 53.8/48.8/87.7 splits in 27.7 MPG (31 games)
- Achievements:
- USA Men’s Basketball all-time Olympic leading point scorer (435 points)
- Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016, 2021)
- One-time FIBA Gold Medalist (was the team’s first FIBA championship since 1994)
- FIBA World Championship MVP (2010)
- Three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2010, 2016, 2021)
Devin Booker
- Teams:
- 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympic Games
- Total Stats:
- 9.3 PPG | 3.2 RPG | 1.8 APG | 1.5 SPG | 0.3 BPG on 42.2/33.3/92.9 splits in 20.6 MPG (6 games)
- Achievements:
- One-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2021)
Durant and Booker helped Team USA rebound from the 2019 FIBA finish in the 2021 Olympics, so they will likely have a chance to do it again this summer.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
