Report: USA Basketball Sends Invites to Roughly 60 Players for 2021 Olympics
The USA Basketball men's squad has reportedly sent invitations to players as it begins preparations for the 2021 Olympics.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Team USA sent approximately 60 invites "to players expressing interest in being part of 2021 Olympic team player pool, including all the [NBA]'s big names."
Wojnarowski added that Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo and Houston Rockets center Christian Wood are among the players who received invitations.
Per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Duncan Robinson, Zion Williamson, Trae Young and Ja Morant are among the players added to the pool for consideration.
Reynolds noted the other players are likely among the 44 finalists named by USA Basketball in February 2020, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kevin Durant.
Team USA is in a potentially tricky spot when it comes to trying to fill its 12-man roster for the Tokyo Games.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told NBA TV (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) in October that the league is "unlikely" to pause its season for the Olympics.
"Because, as you know, it's not just a function of stopping for the period in which they are competing over in Tokyo," he said. "But they require training camp, and then they require rest afterward."
The usual NBA calendar ends in mid-June, but the 2020-21 calendar is scheduled to run as late as July 22 if the Finals go to seven games. The league adopted a 72-game regular season that began Dec. 22 after the 2019-20 campaign ended in October because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Olympics opening ceremonies are scheduled to take place July 23. The men's basketball competition is scheduled to run from July 25-August 7.
Team USA has won 15 gold medals in the Olympics, including three straight dating back to 2008.
