By JAMES MADDEN
Following the conclusion of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, ESPN released its initial projections for the United States Men’s Basketball Team at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. This projection is headlined by three former Duke Blue Devils: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Jayson Tatum. The initial projection, in order of each player’s age at the time of the event from youngest to oldest, is listed below.
- Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks)
- Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets)
- Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons)
- Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets)
- Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)
- Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)
- Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
- Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
- Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
ESPN also mentioned potential replacements and other candidates for the team, including Devin Booker, Evan Mobley, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Brunson, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Tyrese Maxey.
Just four players on this projected roster were members of the gold medal team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris (Edwards, Haliburton, Adebayo and Tatum).
Steve Kerr is the likely candidate to be the team’s head coach again. Kerr was joined by Mark Few, Tyronn Lue and Erik Spoelstra to round out his staff at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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