The U.S. men's national basketball team is looking to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. The Americans disappointed at the 2018 FIBA World Cup, finishing seventh after seeing their 78-game winning streak end in an exhibition against Australia.
Three years later, Team USA's 12-man squad is looking a lot stronger ahead of the Tokyo Games than it did for the World Cup.
Only two players from the World Cup roster are on the 2021 U.S. men's basketball roster: Jayson Tatum and Khris Middleton. The other 10 players include some of the NBA's finest, most notably Kevin Durant, who starred at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics for Team USA.
Here's a look at the U.S. men's national basketball team's roster ahead of the Summer Games, which will start Friday, July 23. The basketball tournament will begin willk beginning on July 25.
Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard headline the 12-man roster for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The roster features six players who were NBA All-Stars during the 2020-21 season. Three players have previous Olympic experience: Durant, Draymond Green and Kevin Love.
Who coaches the U.S. men's basketball team?
Team USA has a star-studded coaching staff that is headed by longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, former Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova coach Jay Wright are his assistants.
Jerry Colangelo is the team's managing director. Colangelo is a four-time NBA Executive of the Year winner and coached the Suns in two different stints, compiling a 59-60 record.
Team USA basketball at the Olympics
The U.S. men have been incredibly successful in basketball; they have taken home gold from each of the last three Olympic Games. The last time they failed to win gold was at the 2004 Athens Games.
Team USA has medaled in men's basketball 18 times. Fifteen of those medals are gold, two are bronze and one is silver. The team didn't participate in the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow as the United States boycotted them because of the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
Team USA basketball 2021 Olympics schedule
Team USA is one of 12 teams to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. It will be playing in Group A. Its group-play opponents will be France, Iran and the winner of an Olympic qualifying tournament in Victoria, B.C. The six teams participating in that tournament are Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and Uruguay.
France and Iran rank No. 7 and No. 23 in FIBA's world rankings, respectively. The United States is the world's top-ranked team.