USA Basketball announces its men's team for the Paris Olympics

USA Basketball studied every men's basketball game it has played for about two decades and a clear trend eventually appeared. When the defense isn't good enough, the Americans tend to get themselves into trouble.

And the team for the Paris Olympics was built with that in mind.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard were formally announced as members of the U.S. Olympic team on Wednesday — a group with nearly 200,000 NBA points, 84 All-Star Game selections and 10 Olympic gold medals between them.

“You want obviously talented individuals, but you want players who can blend and can fit and can play certain roles that you need," USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill said Wednesday. “But I think defense was certainly a priority and having guys that were capable of locking down, guarding multiple sets within a possession.”

The thinking is simple: Scoring shouldn't be a problem, and if the defense does its job, the Americans — looking for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal — will be tough to beat.

The group has seven players with gold medals; Durant has three, James has two, while Adebayo, Booker, Holiday, Tatum and Booker each have one. Combined, the 12 players had averages of 24.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season, shooting 39% from 3-point range.

“Obviously, it's a great honor to represent your country,” Adebayo said. “But for me, to be in that room as part of those 12 players, part of who they think are the 12 best players to represent the United States, it takes it to a different level.”

The amount of talent on the U.S. roster is staggering. Of the 12 selections, seven finished the season ranked among the NBA's top 15 scorers per game. James is the league's all-time scoring leader, Curry the all-time leader in 3-pointers, Haliburton won the assist-per-game title this season and 10 were All-Stars this season as well.

“The goal is to win the gold,” Hill said. “They know that.”

The timing of Wednesday's announcement coincided with the U.S. Olympic summit in New York and the window where the Americans were celebrating the start of a 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony in Paris. USA Basketball could have waited longer to announce but saw no point.

“There will be a lot of interest and a lot of people who will want to be along for this incredible journey we’re about to be on," Hill said. “So, if we know, why wait?”

The Americans remain ranked No. 1 in the world by FIBA even after failing to medal in the two most recent World Cups — finishing seventh at China in 2019 and fourth at Manila last summer.

They won gold at the Tokyo Games by topping France 87-82. A slew of other nations will expect to contend for gold in Paris — the host French, reigning World Cup champion Germany, Serbia and Canada among them — but the American roster has a depth of NBA stars that no other country can reach.

“Your hope is that they haven’t played together before," Canada's Kelly Olynyk said when told this weekend of the U.S. roster, “other than the 12 last All-Star games.”

Hill led the task of assembling the roster, a process that took about 18 months, and the plan all along was to put together the team well in advance of training camp starting at Las Vegas in early July. Players were given their jerseys in visits by Hill or other USA Basketball officials in recent days, or in some cases got them at practice with their team.

“The common theme, when we've lost, was our defense wasn't good enough," U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. "That doesn’t sound like anything earth-shattering. We feel like we are going to score points. We're going to have a lot of talent and we’re going to find a way to score. But the international game is more physical and we've addressed that.”

Durant has said since last year that he plans to play, which means he will pursue becoming the first men’s player in Olympic history with four basketball gold medals. He and Carmelo Anthony are the only men’s players with three Olympic golds; there are six women, all American, with at least four Olympic basketball golds. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi each have five, while Teresa Edwards, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles and Lisa Leslie each won four.

James will seek a fourth medal, after winning bronze in 2004 and golds in 2008 and 2012. The other past gold medalists on the roster are Davis (2012), Adebayo (2020), Booker (2020), Tatum (2020) and Holiday (2020). The 2020 gold medals were won in 2021, since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a one-year delay of the Tokyo Games.

Curry will play in the Olympics for the first time, as will Leonard and Embiid — who chose to play for the U.S. last year after becoming an American citizen. The Cameroon-born center also could have chosen to represent France at the Paris Games.

The other first-time Olympians on the current roster are Haliburton and Edwards, both of whom played for the U.S. team that finished fourth at the World Cup in Manila last year.

“I definitely wanted this experience,” Curry said. “I think the timing is just right."

There were more than 40 players under consideration for this team. Getting the roster to 12 was far from easy.

“I think everybody understands that these Olympics are going to be maybe the most anticipated, given that it’s Paris, in terms of players wanting to go, players' wives wanting to go, everybody wanting to go,” Kerr said. "It made for some really difficult decisions for us, for sure.”

Durant and Curry said in October that they wanted to play this summer, Adebayo said then that he had already committed to the team, and it’s been assumed for some time that if players like James want to play, then all they have to do is say so.

The U.S. men have competed in basketball at the Olympics 19 times, winning 19 medals — 16 gold, one silver and two bronze.

The Paris team will be coached by Kerr, assisted by Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue and Mark Few. It’s still possible that the roster changes before the summer, if injuries or deep runs in the NBA playoffs force players to change their minds about committing to the national team.

“We have a contingency plan," Hill said, "and we have that at every position.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates the win against the Washington Wizards after an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis slam dunks in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, looks to make his move against Orlando Magic's Jonathan Isaac, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 125-113. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) gestures during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings Friday, April 12, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy)

Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday gets past Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives toward the basket as New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates after hitting a three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the end of the third quarter in an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks toward the Memphis Grizzlies' bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 12, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots between New Orleans Pelicans guards Jose Alvarado, left, and Dyson Daniels during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 12, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant gestures during warmups before an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings Friday, April 12, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Ross Stripling threw six strong scoreless innings to earn his first win in nearly two years, and the Oakland Athletics hit two home runs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Wednesday to complete their first series sweep of the season.

Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin both went deep to help the A’s to their fourth straight victory in front of another sparse crowd of 4,679 at the Coliseum. Kyle McCann added two hits and an RBI.

Stripling (1-5), acquired from San Francisco in the offseason, had lost 10 consecutive decisions for the A’s and Giants before putting the clamps on the Pirates offense. The veteran right-hander allowed three hits, had two strikeouts and retired the final seven batters he faced to gain his first win since Oct. 1, 2022.

“Last year ... I felt like I had no room for error,” Stripling said. “I felt like if I missed with anything, especially fastballs over the plate, it was damage every time. I feel like I’ve thrown the ball well this year. Some outings I haven't been able to finish as strong as I would have liked, but today was a good one.”

Five Oakland relievers combined for three innings to complete the A’s fourth shutout of the season.

Toro put the A’s ahead early when he belted a 3-1 sinker from Quinn Priester (0-2) to center field that bounced off the top of the fence and went over.

Nevin extended his career-best hitting streak to nine games with his fourth homer of the season in the third to make it 2-0.

“It all starts with our pitching,” Toro said. “I feel like if we can score two or three runs, our pitchers just keep us in the game. They’ve been the main reason why we’ve been winning lately.”

Oakland tacked on an unearned run in the fifth after Nevin reached on an infield single then scored on shortstop Onell Cruz’s throwing error that pulled Rowdy Tellez off the first base bag.

The Pirates missed a chance to score in the fourth inning when the A’s made a pair of errors after Cruz’s leadoff single. With a runner on third base, Oakland shortstop Darrell Hernaiz fielded Tellez’s grounder and threw home to get Cruz sliding across the plate.

Pittsburgh missed another chance when A’s reliever Austin Adams got Bryan Reynolds to strike out swinging with the bases loaded in the seventh.

“When we had to make plays we made plays,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We’re getting the pitching from both the starters and the bullpen. The offense is scoring enough runs but the pitching and defense is really the story now.”

Priester walked four and allowed five hits and three runs in six innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: C Yasmani Grandal (plantar fasciitis) made another start at DH for Triple-A Indianapolis and is expected to rejoin the big league club soon. … LHP Marco Gonzales (left forearm strain) has yet to resume throwing but the team remains optimistic for a possible quick return.

Athletics: Injured 2B Zack Gelof (left oblique strain) took infield practice before the game.

UP NEXT

Pirates: LHP Martín Pérez (1-1, 2.86 ERA) pitches the series opener against the Rockies on Friday. Pérez has allowed seven runs and 12 hits over his last two starts, covering 9 2/3 innings.

Athletics: LHP JP Sears (1-2, 4.64) faces the Marlins on Friday. Sears was tagged for seven runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Orioles in his previous start.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Oakland Athletics' Nick Allen, from left, celebrates with JJ Bleday and Max Schuemann after the Athletics defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics pitcher Mason Miller (19) celebrates with catcher Kyle McCann after the Athletics defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the seventh inning of the team's baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz runs to third base during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics' Tyler Nevin (26) watches his home run in front of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis during the third inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics pitcher Ross Stripling, bottom, works against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics catcher Kyle McCann, left, tags out Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz at home during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics' Abraham Toro (31) reaches first base safely as Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez, left, reaches for a throwing error by shortstop Oneil Cruz during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Oakland Athletics outfielder Tyler Nevin (26) scored on the play. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics pitcher Ross Stripling works against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)