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Los Angeles: LeBron James is considering a return to the Olympics.
James — a two-time gold medallist and three-time Olympian — was among 44 players announced by USA Basketball on Monday as finalists for the team that will play in the Tokyo Games this summer. James played in 2004, 2008 and 2012, helping the US win gold in his most recent two appearances.
The pool includes 19 players who have won a total of 31 gold medals in either Olympic or World Cup competition for the Americans — including nine players who captured the Olympic title for USA Basketball in Rio de Janeiro four years ago.
“I’ve always maintained that equity is important,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. “And you earn equity by participating. So, we think they’ve earned the right to be named to the overall roster for USA Basketball. It’s pretty elite. It’s a tremendous pot and the good news is they’ve all said they want to play.”
James has played in 68 games for the US national team and has said several times over the past year or so that he is thinking about another Olympics — after sitting out the Rio Games for a variety of reasons. Part of the interest in participating this summer is to have the chance to play for US coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
“My name is in the hat. It’s always predicated on how my body feels at the end of the season,” James said. “I am hoping to make a long playoff run and then where my mind is and where my family’s head is. There are a lot of factors.”
There will be no tryouts. USA Basketball will pare the list down to a 12-person Olympic team by early June, those decisions to be made by a selection committee — and to be based in part on player availability and health. Training camp will start in early July, potentially as little as two weeks after the end of the NBA Finals. The Olympics start July 24.
“I want to play,” said Portland’s Damian Lillard, one of the finalists. “I think, looking at my career and all the stuff I want to accomplish before it’s over, winning a gold medal at the Olympics is on the list. I was happy to see my name on there, obviously, and hopefully I’ll be a part of the team.”
USA Basketball officials, including Colangelo and Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, have met with players in a variety of ways over the past several weeks. Some talks have been directly with players, some with their agents, some with their NBA clubs, sometimes a combination thereof — and, Colangelo noted, there were some instances where players reached out directly to express interest.
If they’re on the list, that means USA Basketball is convinced they want to play.
“I feel very good about the response,” Colangelo said.
Also included in the pool: 15 of the 16 players from the US who are scheduled to play in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, and all 12 members of the team that represented the US at last summer’s Basketball World Cup in China — where the Americans managed only a seventh-place finish after roughly three dozen players who were on the list at some point dropped out along the way.
The nine players still in the mix from the 2016 Olympic team are Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.
Back from the 2012 Olympic champion roster are the Los Angeles Lakers’ James and Anthony Davis, Durant, Houston’s James Harden and Russell Westbrook, Cleveland’s Kevin Love and Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul. Back from the 2008 gold-medal squad: the Lakers’ Dwight Howard.
And those with World Cup or world championship gold medals for USA Basketball, but no Olympic gold to this point include Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Cleveland’s Andre Drummond and Denver’s Mason Plumlee.
