Five members of the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are among the 30 players selected Monday as finalists for the U.S. basketball team that will attempt in Rio de Janeiro to win a third straight gold medal.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes represent the Warriors as finalists, the most from any NBA team.
All five Warriors have prior USA Basketball National Team experience, with Iguodala earning Olympic and FIBA World Championship gold, and Curry and Thompson also collecting gold in FIBA competition.
The final 12-player roster will be chosen this summer.
The complete list of the 30 finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team includes: LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks); Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls); Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings); Paul George (Indiana Pacers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz); Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets); Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs); Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers); Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors); John Wall (Washington Wizards); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).
"The depth of talent that exists in the national team program is extraordinary. Repeating as gold medalists at the 2016 Olympics will not be easy, but we feel confident that we have 30 finalists who offer amazing basketball abilities and special versatility," USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement.
Kobe Bryant, who is retiring after this season, took himself out of the running for a third Olympics this weekend.
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James and Anthony have already joined Hall of Famer David Robinson as the only U.S. men to play in three Olympics, winning bronze in 2004 before leading the U.S. to gold in Beijing and London. Paul could join that list this summer.
James has said he would base his decision about playing on his health and his family's wishes, and may not decide until after his NBA season ends.
"I haven't thought about it," he said at Cleveland's shootaround before its game against Golden State on Monday.
"The last time I thought about Team USA was Kobe taking his name out of the pool. That's the last thing I kind of really thought about, so I'm not any inch closer to playing or not any inch closer to not playing. I haven't really thought about it much."
After playing in five straight NBA Finals, another lengthy season could impact his interest in wearing the red, white and blue again.
"The season has always kind of dictated it," James said.
Ten players have suited for the Americans in the Olympics, but Curry isn't among them. He wasn't chosen for the team in 2012, shortly before the NBA's MVP broke out as one of the game's biggest superstars.
He won gold medals in the 2010 world basketball championship and 2014 Basketball World Cup and will be a strong candidate to make the Olympic team now even in a crowded point guard field that includes Paul, Westbrook, Irving — the MVP of the World Cup in Spain two years ago — Wall and Conley.
Colangelo has said the Americans could send their strongest team yet to the Olympics, and it could certainly be their most experienced one. The pool of finalists includes 18 players who have won Olympic or world championships, and seven players who have played at least 30 international games — led by Anthony's 72.
"This selection process was difficult from the start, and obviously it is only going to get more difficult as we look to get to the official, 12-man roster," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I'm excited about the possibilities this team has."
