Košarkarska reprezentanca ZDA je objavila prvi spisek igralcev, ki kandidirajo za nastop na olimpijskih igrah v Tokiu. Gregg Popovich moraj 12 igralcev izbrati med 57 kandidati.

Tudi če bi prišlo do množičnih odpovedi, je pred Greggom Popovichem vse prej kot enostavna naloga.

Na spisku 57 igralcev najdemo vse najboljše igralce Lige NBA: Jarrett Allen (Cleveland Cavaliers); Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets); Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons); Blake Griffin (Brooklyn Nets); Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks); DeAndre Jordan (Brooklyn Nets); Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls); Julius Randle (New York Knicks); Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat); Mitchell Robinson (New York Knicks); Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors); John Wall (Houston Rockets); Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans); Christian Wood (Houston Rockets); Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks); Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat); LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns); Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat); Mike Conley (Utah Jazz); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs); Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets); Paul George (LA Clippers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); James Harden (Brooklyn Nets); Montrezl Harrell (Los Angeles Lakers); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers); Gordon Hayward (Charlotte Hornets); Dwight Howard (Philadelphia 76ers); Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans); Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets); LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors); JaVale McGee (Cleveland Cavaliers); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); Victor Oladipo (Houston Rockets); Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns); Mason Plumlee (Detroit Pistons); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); Russell Westbrook (Washington Wizards); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

Tokyo Awaits.

57 athletes, including 16 Olympians, are #USABMNT finalists for the @Tokyo2020 Olympic Games

»» https://t.co/PeJ8XsZT6V pic.twitter.com/YjXzGtRHM7

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) March 11, 2021

ZDA so slavile na zadnjih treh olimpijskih igrah (Peking 2008, London 2012 in Rio de Janeiro 2016), a so zato povsem razočarale na svetovnem prvenstvu leta 2019 na Kitajskem, ki so ga po porazu proti Franciji končale v četrtfinalu.

Ni dvoma, da se bo ameriški “dream team” v Tokiu poskušal odkupiti za porazen rezultat …