Over the past two weeks commitments for the USA Basketball men’s roster for the Tokyo Olympics have steadily been rolling in and on Wednesday morning, it seemed as if the full 12-man roster had been completed when Zach LaVine committed to play.
However, on Wednesday afternoon some surprising news came through the pipeline that Pistons forward Jerami Grant had committed to playing in Tokyo this summer, which would’ve made for 13 players. That was until clarification arrived that Grant was replacing James Harden, who after committing to play last week was withdrawing as he continues to rehab his hamstring strain.
Nets‘ James Harden has withdrawn from Team USA coming off his hamstring injury during the postseason, sources said. https://t.co/aQKSKqVIUo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2021
James Harden will not be a part of Team USA this summer as he recovers from a hamstring injury according to USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 23, 2021
That should set the roster fully, barring any further withdrawals as some players could find themselves in the NBA Finals running all the way to the day before the Olympics — although Devin Booker has said he’s playing no matter what.
Kevin Durant
Damian Lillard
Bradley Beal
Jayson Tatum
Devin Booker
Zach LaVine
Draymond Green
Jrue Holiday
Khris Middleton
Bam Adebayo
Jerami Grant
Kevin Love
It is a guard and wing heavy group, so you can expect a fair amount of small-ball from Team USA in Tokyo, given the bigs are Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, and Kevin Love — with Kevin Durant and Jerami Grant as power forward options. In any case, it is a star-studded roster which was in doubt for some time given the condensed NBA season, and they will go for their fourth straight gold medal in Tokyo this summer.
