Things are starting to heat up for Team USA and the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Joel Embiid has made a verbal commitment to play for the United States, passing up the opportunity to play for France and Cameroon. After Team USA failed to medal or place in the FIBA World Cup, nearly every NBA star has made a public comment to the effect of them making their services available for Team USA. The roster can only hold 12 total players, meaning there will be multiple All-Stars and even All-NBA talents bypassed for the team. How can Grant Hill build the best Team USA roster around Embiid to bring home a fifth straight Gold Medal?
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During the FIBA World Cup the biggest glaring weakness for Team USA was their play around the rim. The team struggled to rebound the ball with any consistency and let teams score with relative ease at the rim. Embiid gives the roster the best combination of scoring, size and defensive ability at the rim.
Now Grant Hill, Steve Kerr and the rest of the power brokers of Team USA will have to make some tough decisions to fill the other 11 roster spots around Embiid.
Being successful in international basketball is different than being successful in the NBA game. The roster needs tough players that can adapt to the rules, make sacrifices to fill a role and defer to their teammates for ultimate team success.
The early cuts out of the initial 21 players are only easy because of the otherworldly talents that are just ahead of them in the pecking order. All-Star caliber players like Aaron Gordon, Bradley Beal, Brook Lopez, Fred VanVleet, Jaylen Brown, Julius Randle, Khris Middleton and Zach LaVine are all wild cards to make the roster, but not as likely as the next group of talents.
One of the biggest questions for Team USA is: How many traditional big men do they take to Paris?
With Embiid, the position is anchored for the majority of the minutes, but bringing along one or two in Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo or Draymond Green gives the team depth, injury insurance and matchup flexibility.
The other front court positions will be filled with some of the most decorated Olympians in basketball history in Kevin Durant and LeBron James, who played a lot of the minutes at the three and four positions. Kawhi Leonard is another option as a traditional wing with Adebayo, Davis and Green all able to play the four alongside Embiid.
At the two guard positions Team USA has an embarrassment of riches in potential first-time Olympian Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Donovan Mitchell and DeMar DeRozan.
Ultimately getting down to 12 players will be an impossible task, but the potential of this theoretical starting lineup is one that could be unstoppable and this generation’s Dream Team:
Guard: Stephen Curry
Guard: Devin Booker
Forward: Kevin Durant
Forward: LeBron James
Center: Joel Embiid
That five represents eight MVP winners, three NBA Champions (10 combined rings) and 44 All-NBA appearances. The combination of shooting, passing, length, defensive ability and mentality with that group is off the charts.
Filling in the bench is more challenging than the starters, with the likes of Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Jrue Holiday, Kawhi Leonard, Mikal Bridges, Jayson Tatum, Green, Adebayo and Davis all deserving a spot.
For this exercise, the bench that builds on the mentality of the starters features these seven players: Bridges, Davis, Green, Holiday, Leonard, Lillard and Tatum.
There are countless “right answers” for Team USA in roster building for the 2023 Paris Olympics with Hill and company just needing to find the right answer to collect the fifth straight gold medal and 16th overall.
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