Brook Lopez is still in the running to represent the US at the Olympics…
The 31-year-old Cuban American Milwaukee Bucks player and one-time NBA All-Star is among the 44 playersannounced by USA Basketball as finalists for the team that will play this summer in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Lopez appears on a list that’s headlined by recent NBA MVPs LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrookand James Harden.
Many of the same names were on the 2019 FIBA World Cupnational team minicamp roster, but a mass withdrawal left the U.S. scrambling to field a competitive roster. The Americans failed to medal for the first time since 2002. It remains to be seen whether stars will fill the roster in Tokyo.
“All of the finalists are exceptionally gifted athletes who offer us amazing versatility and depth,” USA Basketball men’s national team managing director Jerry Colangelo said in a press release, “and the group of finalists features a range of players from those who are very experienced and accomplished in international basketball to players who will be future international stars.
“Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season, we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”
“The reason we have this big roster is a lot of things happen, a lot of variables,” Colangelo said. “And what’s to say what’s going to happen from an injury standpoint between now and June? We don’t know. So we have the rest of the season to monitor, to watch. But when we select our 12, they will be 12 who are absolutely in with all fours.”
Lopez has been in the NBA since 2008. He’s played for the New Jersey Nets/Brooklyn Nets, the Los Angeles Lakersand the Bucks.
Here’s the complete list of finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic men’s national basketball team:
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
LaMarcus Aldridge,San Antonio Spurs
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Malcolm Brogdon,Indiana Pacers
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
Mike Conley, Utah Jazz
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs
Andre Drummond, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
Paul George, L.A. Clippers
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Montrezl Harrell, L.A. Clippers
Joe Harris, Brooklyn Nets
Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics
Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers
Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
JaVale McGee, Los Angeles Lakers
Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder
Mason Plumlee, Denver Nuggets
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics
Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs