Predicting the 2028 USA Olympic basketball team for Los Angeles

With the USA Men’s Basketball Team winning gold at the Olympics for the fifth time in a row after fielding one its strongest rosters of all time, we thought this could be a fun time to predict what Team USA might look like in 2028 for the L.A. Games.

The days of LeBron James and Stephen Curry donning the red, white and blue will likely be over by then, leaving the American squad with enormous shoes to fill. Based on what we saw this summer, things could get dicey for Team USA in the future when things get tight late in games without James and Curry, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Plus, there’s one legend on the current USA team that we are predicting could suit up for Team USA one more time in Los Angeles.

Find out who we’re talking about below where we predict the 2028 USA Olympic basketball squad.

Guard: Tyrese Haliburton

After a bit role with Team USA this summer featuring multiple DNP-CDs due to how loaded the roster was, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton could have a far more prominent role in four years after paying his dues in Paris.

Haliburton is an elite playmaker who will keep the ball moving and usually just look to score when he has to, which should make him a great lead guard for a squad like Team USA, which is loaded with top-notch scorers. The fact Haliburton didn’t make a fuss about not playing much this summer will also greatly increase his chances of being asked back, especially if he maintains the All-NBA level he has displayed in Indiana.

The only thing that might get in the way of Haliburton being asked to join the next American Olympic basketball squad is if other offense-first guards, like the next couple we’re going to discuss, take leaps. In that case, Team USA officials could decide they want more defensive backcourt help like they had in 2024 with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White and choose to bypass Haliburton.

If the next two players on this list do get asked to join Team USA in 2028, we might start to feel a bit iffier about Haliburton’s chances, but that’s a lot of projection on our part. For now, we feel good about Haliburton, who will probably be the best American pure point guard in 2028, and his chances to be back for the L.A. Games.

Guard: Ja Morant

This is a pretty bold prediction on our part considering Ja Morant‘s track record off the court and his more recent injury issues, but we’re taking a swing for the fences and putting Morant on our 2028 USA Olympic Basketball squad. We’ll just write his name down in pencil instead of pen.

We’re gambling on the fact that the Memphis Grizzlies superstar has a higher ceiling than any other young American guard based on his jaw-dropping athleticism and his scoring ability, both of which are top-of-the-line. Lest we forget, over 2021-22 and 2022-23, Morant averaged nearly 27 points and over seven assists nightly, earned All-Star honors twice and was even named 2nd Team All-NBA.

If Morant gets back on that level, this pick will start to feel safer.

Although, on the other hand, Team USA has usually favored guards who can shoot the basketball for FIBA play and Morant, for all of his greatness, is under 32.0 percent from three for his career. A similar player in John Wall never got to suit up for Team USA, for example.

Might a similar fate await Morant?

It’s possible, but we’re going to bet on Morant and say he will make himself an undeniable pick by 2028 for the next Olympics.

Guard: Tyrese Maxey

See what we mean about things maybe getting dicey for Haliburton depending on other factors?

Morant and Tyrese Maxey, who we’re also putting on our 2028 Team USA squad for the next Olympics, are both elite scorers but lacking defenders. Will the Americans really take three point guards who don’t defend all that hard when just this year, they took two elite defensive guards in Holiday and White?

Regardless, Maxey has already progressed so much thus far in his career that expecting him to be an Olympian in 2028 is anything but farfetched. In fact, given his recent play, it’s kind of surprising he wasn’t even on the preliminary list for the Olympics this summer.

Maxey just won Most Improved Player and was named an All-Star after averaging almost 26 points and over six assists for the Philadelphia 76ers this past season. If he takes another even minor leap, he’ll probably be a lock for L.A. 2028.

Guard: Anthony Edwards

If we had to bet, we’re banking on Anthony Edwards being Team USA’s leader in 2028. After all, considering how great he looked in 2023-24 for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Edwards may have an MVP and/or NBA title by then, at least if things continue to trend in the same direction for him.

Granted, Edwards didn’t live up to his own proclamation that he’d be the team’s No. 1 option. That was far from the case, as Edwards was at times not even in the team’s closing lineup this summer.

Still, it was a great first taste of Olympic competition for Edwards in what will go down as an iconic summer for USA Basketball, so the former No. 1 overall pick should be a lock for the 2028 team.

Guard: Devin Booker

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is a great fit for Team USA thanks to his shooting ability – he can get hot at a moment’s notice without needing to dribble much – and his willingness to defend tenaciously despite being an established star. Basically, Booker is willing to play like a role player for the good of Team USA, something USA Basketball brass has to absolutely love about him.

Because of that, we fully expect Booker, who had an excellent showing for the 2024 team, to be back in the fold for L.A. 2028, likely even as one of the team’s leaders. Booker will be 31 when the next Olympics roll around, so we think he’s a safe bet to make the team considering his track record with the team and how easy of a fit he’s proven to be on any squad given his playing style.

Booker deserves far more credit from USA Basketball fans than he seems to have gotten, especially considering he’s got two gold medals under his belt already, playing an important role on both the 2020 and 2024 teams.

Forward: Kevin Durant

This is another somewhat bold pick but bear with us. Team USA GOAT Kevin Durant is a basketball sicko, who chooses to work on his jumper at the club:

That makes us think he’d be willing to throw his hat in the ring for the 2028 Games in L.A. for one final run at gold. Durant will be 39 by then, which is the age LeBron James is now, so it’s not totally preposterous to think Durant will remain an elite player by then. He just finished Top 10 in MVP voting and was 2nd Team All-NBA in 2023-24, after all.

Is Durant guaranteed to be a Top 12 American player by 2028? Probably not but even if he isn’t an elite player at 39, he could still be picked similarly to how Larry Bird was for the original Dream Team in 1992 where it went beyond merit, when Bird’s overall body of work was rewarded.

And who has a better body of work with Team USA than Durant, who now has four Olympic gold medals and is the all-time leading scorer among American players at the Olympics?

Plus, after seeing how important the old guard has been in 2024 in tight games this summer, are we really ready to send off all three legends – Durant, James and Curry – at once?

We think one of those guys could be back in 2028 and we’re going with Durant as that player.

Forward: Jayson Tatum

Considering his game should age well and he’ll be just 30 in 2028 to begin with, Boston Celtics champion Jayson Tatum will almost certainly get another Olympic shot in Los Angeles… if he wants it.

This summer has been an awkward one for Tatum, who just won the first NBA championship of his career but did so without winning Finals MVP. He then made the Olympic men’s basketball team for the U.S. but saw his role with the team greatly diminished with multiple DNP-CDs littering his time in Paris.

Tatum’s mother even got involved on social media, saying it was “unacceptable” that Tatum isn’t getting more minutes for Team USA this summer:

That surely won’t be brought up again in future trash talk against Tatum.

Anyway, if Tatum wants a shot at redemption with Team USA in 2028, he’ll get it because he’s without a doubt one of the best American players out there and that won’t change by 2028. And with James and Durant such question marks for the next Olympics, the team will actually need Tatum then, and for a huge role, likely as a starter.

Forward: Paolo Banchero

Former No. 1 draft pick Paolo Banchero nearly represented Italy in FIBA play, even once saying he was ‘excited’ about playing for the country that had granted him a passport to allow him to play for its national team:

“It kept building inside me, you know, this interest for Italy and the love I’ve been feeling from the country. So I’m excited to play for Italy, representing Italy and eventually get out there”, Banchero said.

Instead, Team USA came calling and Banchero ended up playing for his native country, suiting up for the Americans at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. (The Italian basketball president called Banchero’s decision a betrayal, by the way, but that’s neither here nor there.) It’s very unlikely that was a one-off, either, as Banchero has huge upside and the team will be lacking in star-level forwards if this is to be James and Durant’s final Olympics.

Banchero, despite having a relatively mundane showing at the 2023 World Cup for Team USA, followed up a Rookie of the Year campaign in the NBA with an All-Star season in 2023-24 and looks to be on the path to superstardom.

If the former Duke Blue Devil does reach that level, that would be huge for Team USA’s chances of winning a sixth straight Olympic gold medal in L.A. 2028, as his blend of size, athleticism and skill are borderline generational.

All in all, Banchero was almost certainly brought into the program with the future in mind, a move that could pay off as soon as 2028.

Forward: Jalen Williams

We’re going with a bit of a wild-card pick here for the final forward spot and choosing the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams, one of the fastest-rising swingmen in the game today.

Williams, through two NBA seasons, is fast approaching star status, finishing fourth in Most Improved Player voting in 2023-24 after putting up a 19/4/4 stat line on 42.7 percent shooting from three. Williams’ ability to score one-on-one from the midrange on pull-up and fadeaway jumpers gives him huge upside and could be important for a Team USA squad that occasionally gets into tight games and needs a reliable bucket-getter with size for clutch situations.

Could Williams develop into being that guy? The former Santa Clara standout did get Clutch Player of the Year votes in 2023-24.

There were some other good young options for this final forward spot, including one player who’s not even playing college basketball yet, but for now, we’re going with Williams.

Big: Anthony Davis

We went a little back and forth with this one as elite big man Anthony Davis does already have multiple Olympic gold medals on his mantle and a somewhat tricky injury history. Plus, he’ll be 35 by the time the 2028 Olympics come around.

But Davis has a game that should age well thanks to his skill and length, and he’s a great weapon in FIBA play due to his quickness, ball-handling and shooting ability, not to mention his otherworldly defense.

With the 2028 Olympics set to take place in Los Angeles, the city where Davis will very likely still be playing professional basketball in four years as a member of the Lakers, that makes us think he could make another Olympic run in 2028.

Big: Bam Adebayo

A member of the 2020 and 2024 Olympic basketball squads for Team USA, playing a role in the Americans winning gold at both tournaments, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo is a strong candidate to suit up for his country once again in 2028, as his defense is perfectly suited to thrive in FIBA settings.

Adebayo has elite lateral quickness for a big man and can legitimately guard 1-5, boasting ridiculous feet to capably defend guards on switches and great strength to bang against bigger foes down low when he has to.

The two-time gold medalist is also a smart passer, can finish around and above the rim thanks to his athleticism and won’t take bad shots, understanding his role and thriving in it, making him a great role player for USA Basketball.

Big: Chet Holmgren

This is another projection pick, though Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren already has youth national team experience as a member of USA basketball’s squad at the FIBA U-19 World Cup in Latvia back in 2021, an American team that won gold in the event. Holmgren actually faced France and Victor Wembanyama in the final of that tournament, which is pretty great national team experience already.

Holmgren has that versatility, skill – as a pull-up shooter, ball-handler and even passer – and defensive impact that USA Basketball so often seeks in its big men in international play, making him a great candidate to be on the team in 2028 if he develops the way many expect him to over the coming seasons.

Just missed the cut....

We strongly thought about including former league MVP Joel Embiid on our 2028 squad but based on his injury history and the fact he’ll be 34 in 2028, we decided to leave him off. Embiid did recently talk about playing in the 2028 Olympics which gave us some pause, but he brought it up to say he could decide to play for his native Cameroon next time around. Trolling or not, that was enough for us to keep him off this list.

Reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is another candidate to play for Team USA in 2028 based on his current level as a player but he probably burned a bridge too many after being snubbed for the 2024 Olympics and that ship might have sailed.

Other candidates to play for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics include Jalen Brunson, an elite scorer who could very well make the team if he keeps up his 2023-24 level, Trae Young, a shooter who could fit well in the FIBA style, and other young players like Evan Mobley, Brandon Miller and Cooper Flagg, all of whom could make major strides by 2028 and earn roster spots.

We could go on and on, too, with both established stars and young up-and-comers but that’s the problem for Team USA – an embarrassment of riches making final roster decisions quite difficult.