USA Basketball: Olympic Team Adds Harden, Davis To Roster Selection

by Scipio Tex on May 9, 2025 2:38 PM CDT in Other Sports

I've been following the next Dream Team with some interest and now that Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose will be unavailable for Team USA in London, the roster has some exciting young talents emerging for consideration.

The U.S. recently added college player of the year Anthony Davis and Oklahoma City's James Harden to its pool of finalists.

Anthony Davis will be the #1 pick in the NBA draft and though he's still a teen, he's one of the best pure shot blockers on the planet. He has situational value, is a strong finisher in transition, and certainly won't grumble at the end of the bench. He fits Coach K's team vision of speed, defensive length, and the ability to defend multiple positions, so don't be surprised if he grabs a roster spot over more established veterans.

22 year old James Harden has become Black Havlicek - an efficient scorer, ball-handler, passer, and rebounder who is basically OKC's victory caulk. And anyone who defends him is caulk block. I expect him to grab a 12 man roster spot.

The roster possibles we know of are now:

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CURRENT TEAM / COLLEGE or HIGH SCHOOL
Carmelo Anthony	F	6-8	230	5/29/84	New York Knicks / Syracuse
Chris Bosh	F	6-10	230	3/24/84	Miami Heat / Georgia Tech
Kobe Bryant	G	6-6	205	8/23/78	Los Angeles Lakers / Lower Merion H.S. (PA)
Tyson Chandler	C	7-1	235	10/02/82	New York Knicks / Dominguez H.S. (CA)
Anthony Davis	G	6-10	220	3/11/92	N/A / Kentucky
Kevin Durant	G	6-9	230	9/29/88	Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas
Rudy Gay	F	6-8	230	8/17/86	Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut
Eric Gordon	G	6-3	222	12/25/88	New Orleans Hornets / Indiana
Blake Griffin	F	6-10	251	03/16/89	Los Angeles Clippers / Oklahoma
James Harden	G	6-5	220	8/26/89	Oklahoma City Thunder / Arizona State
Andre Iguodala	G/F	6-6	207	1/28/84	Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona
LeBron James	F	6-8	250	12/30/84	Miami Heat / St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S. (OH)
Kevin Love	F	6-10	260	9/07/88	Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA
Chris Paul	G	6-0	175	5/06/85	Los Angeles Clippers / Wake Forest
Dwyane Wade	G	6-4	220	1/17/82	Miami Heat / Marquette
Russell Westbrook	G	6-3	187	11/12/88	Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA
Deron Williams	G	6-3	207	7/26/84	New Jersey Nets / Illinois

I scrubbed Lamar Odom for being a weak-minded reality star pawn
LaMarcus Aldridge is likely out with a hip issue - tough break
Chauncey Billups is too old and I've already removed him from the roster

Realistically, Dwight Howard is really the only loss of consequence because of his ability to defend the rim and dominate the boards. Team USA needs bigs and Andrew Bynum has already said no so he can do a postseason knee rehab. I expect Jerry Colangelo to look hard at players like Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Joakim Noah, Paul Millsap, and Roy Hibbert. I favor a DeMarcus Cousins/Javale McGee pairing for the sheer amusement factor.

The main beneficiaries in all of this are Tyson Chandler and Chris Bosh, who now look like shoo-ins for the final 12.

Players like Gay, Gordon, and Iguodala can't be happy to see James Harden added as a roster option. Harden also provides Team USA with a de facto 3rd team point guard and he's a better pure player than any of them.

The loss of Howard is disappointing, but that may just mean a more exciting brand of up-and-down basketball in Jolly Olde England.

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Read More: Al Jefferson (C - UTA), Carmelo Anthony (F - NYK), Josh Smith (F - ATL), Andre Iguodala (F - PHI), Dwight Howard (C - ORL), Chris Bosh (F - MIA), Paul Millsap (F - UTA), Deron Williams (G - NJN), Chris Paul (G - LAC), Tyson Chandler (C - NYK), Chauncey Billups (G - LAC), Rudy Gay (F - MEM), LaMarcus Aldridge (F - POR), LeBron James (F - MIA), Andrew Bynum (C - LAL), Kobe Bryant (G - LAL), Lamar Odom (F - DAL), Dwyane Wade (G - MIA), Joakim Noah (C - CHI), Kevin Durant (F - OKC), Eric Gordon (G - NOH), Russell Westbrook (G - OKC), Roy Hibbert (C - IND), JaVale McGee (C - DEN), Kevin Love (F - MIN), Derrick Rose (G - CHI), Blake Griffin (F - LAC), James Harden (G - OKC), Greg Monroe (C - DET), DeMarcus Cousins (C - SAC), New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Texas Longhorns, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers

Comments

Love Harden and his frohawk.

Follow @BarkingCarnival

by Sailor Ripley on May 9, 2025 2:43 PM CDT reply actions

Davis super intriguing

He’s a Chandler-like presence on defense and has the perimeter-to-inside chops of Bosh on offense. He just lacks experience and bulk. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make it.

http://aseaofblue.com | https://www.barkingcarnival.com | @JC_Hoops

by jc25 on May 9, 2025 3:12 PM CDT reply actions

Agree.

He may get bullied by Marc Gasol down low, but he’s a huge asset in a fast-tempo game.

by Scipio Tex on May 9, 2025 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions

Haha Black Havlicek.

The last set of digits in the DOB column are depressing to me. 1992? Good lord. Because this is how I measure things, Davis was in kindergarten when Mack Brown was hired. That is incredible to me.

by nordberg on May 9, 2025 3:36 PM CDT reply actions

A quick way to feel old.

And it’s pretty amazing how young the core of Team USA is.

by Scipio Tex on May 9, 2025 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions

BTW

Because of his youth and the nature of his game, it’s not unrealistic to believe that a healthy Durant could play in 3-4 Olympics for Team USA.

by Scipio Tex on May 9, 2025 3:58 PM CDT reply actions

I just wish Davis would pluck that caterpillar crawling across his forehead.

It’s embarrassing to our country.

Gangsta rap made me do it.

by TexasTopHand on May 9, 2025 5:19 PM CDT reply actions

It is admired by many peoples in Kazakhstan

by Scipio Tex on May 9, 2025 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Also, his ability to hit gypsy with potato from fifty meter.

Gangsta rap made me do it.

by TexasTopHand on May 9, 2025 6:19 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Noah

Can he play for the US? Didn’t think he would be able to.

by atxdman on May 9, 2025 10:47 PM CDT reply actions

Do

Durant, Chandler, and Melo all really weigh the same amount? I have 1 guess on which of those weights is a fib.

If Harden isn’t included on the team it’s an egregious oversight, he might be the playoff MVP before it’s all done. At the very least, if the Thunder win he’ll have had a 2005 Ginobili-level impact.

by Nickel Rover on May 10, 2025 8:57 AM CDT reply actions

At first glance, this is my team

Paul
Kobe
Durant
LeBron
Chandler

Westbrook
Wade
Carmelo
Love
Davis

Harden
Bosh

The one I hate leaving off is Iguodala. And I hate having Bosh on there, but the size is at a premium on this team and his style probably fits better than Griffin’s.

by hiphopopotamus on May 10, 2025 1:48 PM CDT reply actions

Ditch Kobe

add Iggy. Easy choice to me. I think I would rather have Garnett than Bosh, also. He can still space things out with the jumper and you get far better defense in the post.

by Nickel Rover on May 10, 2025 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I'd love to have Garnett over Bosh

But I can’t imagine he wants the extra wear on his body at this point in his career.

I think calling Iguodala over Bryant an “easy choice” is nothing more than Kobe hating though. Believe me, I’m not a big fan of the guy, so I understand. But if Kobe wants to play, I don’t turn him down so that I can have Iggy’s defense.

by hiphopopotamus on May 10, 2025 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't like Kobe

because it’s verifiable that he’s not very good anymore.
Put it this way: What does Kobe offer that we don’t get from Harden or Wade?
What does Iggy offer that we don’t get from Kobe?

by Nickel Rover on May 10, 2025 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions

Other than experience...

Kobe probably doesn’t add much over Wade/Harden. He’s a much better shooter than Wade and much better defender than Harden, but as a tandem, not much.

But that’s my problem with Iguodala…he plays better defense than Kobe, but not substantially better. And he doesn’t do anything else nearly as well.

by hiphopopotamus on May 11, 2025 8:27 AM CDT up reply actions

Iggy

Shot better than Kobe overall 48%-43% and from 3 39%-30%.
He averaged 7.4 assists per 48 minutes to Kobe’s 5.7
He averaged 2.5 turnovers per 48 to Kobe’s 4.4
Rebounds: 8.3 to 6.7.
Steals 2.3 to 1.5

I’m not sure there was a statistical category in 2012 where Iggy did not substantially outperform Kobe Bryant.

by Nickel Rover on May 11, 2025 9:13 AM CDT up reply actions

Where did you get that FG%?

I’ve got him at 45% on the year and 35% in the playoffs.

Believe me, I’m not a Kobe defender and I like Iguodala. But they’re playing vastly different roles and as much as stat guys want to break down basketball that way, it’s not that simple. Superior efficiency or not, he also only scored 12 points per game for an 8 seed in a crappy conference. Iggy had only slightly better shooting #‘s, despite Kobe taking over twice as many shots, and that doesn’t even factor in Kobe getting to the line over twice as often (and shooting them at 85% instead of 62%). Kobe had an Iverson-like year, but I’m not sure there’s guy in the league that would tell you Iguodala is better than him.

by hiphopopotamus on May 11, 2025 9:29 AM CDT up reply actions

Iverson?

Iverson was terrible, you couldn’t have made a better comparison to demonstrate my point.
Kobe shooting twice as much also furthers my point. Why did he do that if he couldn’t hit them at an efficient percentage? Don’t tell me he needed to shoot that many times on a team with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ramon Sessions, and then guys like Murphy just rotting on the bench.

Bryant shot 43% on the year, which is more likely to bear out then his better shooting of late against the Nuggets.

Iggy played a comparable number of minutes, produced a lot more of everything except points. How did Kobe produce so many points?

By shooting 28 shots per game! On a team with several other players capable of shooting 43% or better. PPG is a wildly misleading statistic. It’s of no benefit to your team if you can average 25 ppg by taking as many shots. Most perimeter starters in the league could do that if their teammates and coaches would let them.

by Nickel Rover on May 11, 2025 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions

Another problem with your point

we’re talking about guys who will help the Olympic team win.

Does Kobe help the team by shooting 28 shots at a low percentage on a team with Wade, James, Chandler, etc? Of course not.

If Iggy’s main “fault” is that he doesn’t take that many shots then that makes him perfect as a complementary player who can contribute to his team without needing to take twice as many shots as a dominant low-post scorer.

This shouldn’t even be a debate.

by Nickel Rover on May 11, 2025 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions

If you say so...

Funny that it’s not even a debate for you, yet in all reality, it won’t actually be a debate in the opposite direction.

I’m not arguing the Olympic team will want Kobe to shoot a lot, or even that the Lakers do. My point was that it’s more difficult to shoot 43% on 23 shots than 45% on 10 shots. I’m really not sure what level headed person would think otherwise. I’m also arguing that Kobe’s ability to get to the FT line (and actually make them) is very valuable. Again, I’m not sure who would antagonize that view.

The 2008 team doesn’t win the gold medal without Kobe taking over against Spain. I don’t think he should do that again in 2012, nor do I think he’ll need to. But if he wants to play, I’ll be very surprised if anyone turns him down, because of how badly they want Iguodala. I know I wouldn’t.

by hiphopopotamus on May 11, 2025 1:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Appeal to authority

doesn’t convince me. I don’t care if most NBA teams would rather have Kobe over Iquodala, that has no bearing on who makes greater contributions towards winning basketball games.

Perhaps Kobe is one of the only players who can shoot 43% on 28 shots. He’s achieved a spectacular feat that has absolutely no value in achieving victories on the basketball court. I could join the NBA and perform a feat no one else is capable of. I could play all 48 minutes without scoring or collecting a rebound. I doubt anyone else would be capable of such a feat. It would not prove beneficial to my team in their attempt to win the basketball game.

If, in doing so, he gets to the free throw line that does not overcome the terrible inefficiency of his offense. Free throw numbers such as Kobe gets are not worth all the missed shots and turnovers he accumulates in the pursuit of points.

As for 2008, there is no way to determine if you’re right about Kobe winning the medal for us. You are confusing what happened with every possible event that could have happened.

by Nickel Rover on May 11, 2025 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions