Team USA Basketball 2012: Stars Who Need to Step Up

The games in London this year will feature one of the best Olympic squads we’ve seen on paper in recent memory, but the names on the roster alone won’t bring gold to Team USA, as we saw with the 2004 squad in Greece.

With the roster running a bit thin due to injuries, and comparisons to the 1992 Dream Team buzzing about, there are a few players on the team that will need to perform exceptionally to lead the US to their second straight Olympic gold.

James Harden

He’s in a contract year and James Harden needs to prove that he deserves to be on a team with the NBA’s elite given his performance in the NBA finals and the excess of shooting guards that were left off Team USA’s roster.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski chose to place Harden on the roster due to his playmaking ability and tendency to frequent the free-throw line when penetrating, and though Harden will play a smaller reserve role with Team USA than he does with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has a lot to showcase if he wants to consistently make appearances on the Olympic roster.

Anthony Davis

Blake Griffin’s injury replacement and the only player on the roster with no NBA experience, Anthony Davis will need to prove that he can compete with some of the NBA’s elite at the international level.

He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so; he and Kevin Love are the only true power forwards on the roster and Tyson Chandler needs help defensively down low. Davis certainly has the hype and potential, and it’ll be interesting to see just how big his upside is as time wears on. London should be an excellent proving ground for Davis.

Carmelo Anthony

A true scorer by nature, the undersized American squad will ask Anthony to play the power forward a bit, a role he is not truly accustomed to playing with the New York Knicks.

Carmelo is an average rebounder at best, and is notorious for being held back by his defensive talents (or lack thereof). He’s already battling for minutes behind Lebron James and Kevin Durant, and a poor Olympic performance could send red flags to the Knicks, who have not finished better than a seven seed in the Eastern Conference with Anthony on the roster. 

Tyson Chandler

A lot is riding on the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year in Chandler. With Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin and Chris Bosh unavailable due to injuries, Chandler is the team’s starting center and will carry most of the load down low for the Americans.

Kevin Love struggles defensively and Anthony Davis is still young and inexperienced, so Chandler’s health and performance through the Olympics will be crucial to Team USA’s success. 

Kobe Bryant/Lebron James

They’re two future Hall of Famers and two of the best in the game today, but anybody who calls out the G.O.A.T. and company better have the game to back it up. With claims that this Team USA basketball squad could beat the 1992 "Dream Team" Kobe Bryant and Lebron James better have two of the most definitive Olympic performances of their careers.

The blowout win over France was a solid noisemaker, and given that the rest of the international field has improved drastically over the years gives Team USA some claim to proof. Still, if they want to be mentioned with the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, they still have a lot to showcase over the next few weeks.