Projecting the U.S. men's basketball roster for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are in the rearview mirror and to no surprise, the United States once again earned a gold medal in basketball.

Led by a trio of NBA veterans, the U.S. men’s basketball roster was thrilling. Basketball fans were delighted to see LeBron James play with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant at the same time and the results were incredible.

Now that the Olympics will leave France and the United States will become the next host nation, the focus will shift to what the roster could look like in 2028.

It is an impossible question to answer because so much of this depends on health, interest, coaching, development, and various other circumstances we can’t predict.

But based on what we know so far, factoring in age and relationships with the USA Basketball, here is our best guess as of right now:

GUARDS

Anthony Edwards

Devin Booker

Tyrese Haliburton

Donovan Mitchell

Tyrese Maxey

FORWARDS

Jayson Tatum

Paolo Banchero

Scottie Barnes

Cooper Flagg

BIGS

Bam Adebayo

Chet Holmgren

Evan Mobley

Noah Lyles denies beef with Anthony Edwards

U.S. track and field sprinter Noah Lyles caused some more controversy this weekend:

“Two of the biggest stars from the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics were Noah Lyles and Anthony Edwards.

Lyles and Edwards both became first-time Olympic gold medalists this summer. Before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the Olympics this year, Lyles won a gold medal in the 100 meter for track and field. Edwards was a standout performer on the U.S. men’s basketball roster.

Both gold medalists have signed endorsement deals with the shoe company adidas. Recent reporting suggests that there is potentially animosity between the two, but Lyles is attempting to squash those growing rumors.”

You can read more here.

Shootaround

— 5 things we learned about the NBA (Victor Wembanyama’s rise is truly inevitable) at the Paris Olympics

— Tyrese Haliburton had the most perfect post after winning a gold medal despite limited playing time

— Hoops fans thought A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s polite handshake was so unsubtle amid dating rumors

— An earthquake interrupted ESPN’s NBA Today show but Malika Andrews handled it like a pro