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April 15, 2021 By: Mark Knudson

What will the 2021 version of the USA ‘Dream Team’ look like at the Tokyo Summer Olympics? (update)

It’s been nearly impossible to look ahead and make any sort of educated guess – and be close to accurate about anything – over the past 13 months. Everything seems to change minute to minute.

But we do know this much: The United States will be defending its gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic games, which start in late July.

Not much about these rescheduled games will look the same as it would have if the games had not been postponed by the pandemic, and that includes the USA “Dream Team” of NBA stars that will make up the roster. The U.S. owns Olympic hoops, having won six of seven golds since the original Dream Team dominated their competition in 1992. The record is a cool 53-3 in Men’s basketball. The only blemish as a slip up during the 2000 games, when Team USA settled for the bronze medal.

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This Team USA should be the overwhelming favorite to capture its fifth consecutive gold medal. No redemption necessary.

Remember, the adjusted NBA schedule for this season has some quirks – like a mini “play-in” tournament for the seventh through tenth seeds that starts May 18^th. Then, after that field is cut in half, the regular playoff season begins on May 22^nd. It’s a normal one, seeding one through eight. That means that the eventual NBA champion will have to win 16 games to capture the title. The NBA Finals start on July 8^thand can end as late into the summer as July 22^nd.

The Olympic games start on July 23^rd.

See the dilemma?

The last day the NBA Finals could happen just three days before Team USA is scheduled to play France in their first game on July 25^th.

Who will have time to change into the red, white and blue?

USA Basketball recently added 15 more players to the “available player pool” for the games, which means there are now 57 “finalists” to be on the Team USA roster for Tokyo. There are a whole lot of names on that list that figure to be playing meaningful NBA games in late June and July. So cutting it down to a dynamic dozen that can suit up for Gregg Popovich (assuming the San Antonio Spurs make an early exit from the NBA post season, allowing him time to get settled in the Olympic Village) against France.

“Having a larger player pool than what we normally have is critical because of all of the uncertainties we face about availability. But for USA Basketball to receive the commitment of so many outstanding players remains an indicator of the great honor of representing your country means to these men.” Said USA Basketball Managing Director Jerry Colangelo in a statement last month.

It’s got to be obvious, even to Colangelo that he’s not going to be seeing guys like LeBron James and Kevin Durant suiting up for the red, white and blue this summer. No chance.

James’ Lakers and Durant’s’ Brooklyn Nets are among the favorites to be playing in the Finals. And even if they don’t make it, they’ll be playing into July and aren’t likely to be able to play in Tokyo.

That doesn’t mean there can’t be star power in Tokyo. Here’s the best guess right now – in mid-April – as to who those dozen players will be.

Steph Curry, Golden State. The Warriors are going nowhere, he missed and entire season during the pandemic and is playing great at the moment. He should be a no brainer.
Draymond Green, Golden State. Same deal. No brainer.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans. His team isn’t any good, but this guy is must-see TV. He’ll be a star in Japan.
Zach LaVine, Chicago. Quietly dynamic.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto. World Champ. Team leader.
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans. Slasher. Scorer.
Eric Gordon, Houston. Sixth man of the year in 2017. Recovering from an injury but should be full speed by summer.
John Wall, Houston. Can still fill it up.
Fred VanVleet, Toronto. Dropped 54 on Orlando in February.
Jerami Grant, Detroit. Having a coming out year.
Kevin Love, Cleveland. Forgotten man around the league, but good team player and veteran of international play.
Russell Westbrook, Washington. A triple-double machine…but he’s got baggage, too. Will need to be reigned in.

So, there you have it. The 12 guys that will win another basketball gold medal for Team USA. Is it an actual “Dream Team” like it could be? Probably not. bBut think about it this way: The other nations that hope to compete for medals in Tokyo are also at the mercy of the NBA playoffs. So if Slovenia can’t have Luka Doncic, and Serbia can’t have Nikola Jokic, and Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka aren’t available for Spain, and France – Team USA’s first opponent – doesn’t have Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum or Evan Fournier…

Thanks to all the maneuvering with schedules and such due to COVID, the field has been watered down. The path to gold has gotten a lot less bumpy. Depth matters. And that remains the strength of USA hoops.