Mission accomplished for the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, which survived a few small scares and one really big one on its way to a perfect record in this year’s Paris Games. With a fifth straight gold medal, the Americans provided a reminder of their dominance in men’s basketball, although much of the world clearly isn’t far behind.
From the time this year’s roster was assembled, the focus was on NBA legends LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant teaming up for the first time in international competition. All three are well into their 30s and are approaching the end of their basketball careers, but it’s hard to picture the U.S. emerging from France with gold medals if they hadn’t been involved.
Assuming James, Curry and Durant are retired by then, there will be some mighty big sneakers to fill in 2028. They were the team’s top three scorers, with Curry leading the way at 14.8 PPG. James led in rebounds (6.8), assists (8.5) and efficiency (23.5) as coach Steve Kerr leaned heavily on his veterans whenever things got tough.
Apart from those three, most of the roster should still be in the mix for Olympic spots in 2028, assuming good health and continued production. Anthony Edwards could be the NBA’s next superstar by then, and he’ll almost definitely be part of the guard corps. Devin Booker will probably be back, along with Tyrese Haliburton, who should have an expanded role after not playing much this year. Jrue Holiday and late addition Derrick White are less likely to return.
Jayson Tatum didn’t see the playing time he expected, but he could be one of the team’s top forwards in 2028. Big men Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo are all young enough to be back four years from now.
That leaves several open spots and plenty of good candidates to fill them. In the backcourt, it’s easy to picture Ja Morant returning to stardom if he can leave his legal issues and bad injury luck behind. Jalen Brunson should get serious consideration, and Tyrese Maxey is a rising star who will be in his prime by 2028. Other potential candidates include Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Trae Young, LaMelo Ball and Cade Cunningham.
After feeling slighted this year, Jaylen Brown should get an invitation in 2028. He and Tatum will likely be joined by Paolo Banchero if he continues on his current trajectory and Zion Williamson if he can overcome the injuries that have slowed his career. There are plenty of other strong candidates such as Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Evan Mobley.
And who knows how good Cooper Flagg or any of the highly touted rookies in the next two draft classes will become?
We want to get your feedback. If you were picking the 2028 team, what would it look like? Please leave your responses in the space below.