(Reuters) – NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard are among the 20 players who will compete for selection for the U.S. men’s basketball Olympic team, USA Basketball said yesterday.
The list includes eight members of the 2008 gold medal team from Beijing and 10 members of the squad that captured the 2010 world title in Turkey.
Two-time NBA most valuable player James, five-time NBA champion Bryant and three-time NBA defensive player of the year Howard are among the players seeking a chance at winning a second consecutive Olympic gold medal for the United States.
NBA rookie of the year Blake Griffin and Portland Trail Blazers leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge are among the hopefuls who did not play in either the Beijing Olympics or 2010 world championship.
The official 12-man roster for the July 27-Aug. 12 Olympics in London will be announced later this year so performance during the current NBA season can be evaluated.
Player pool:
LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), Chauncey Billups (Los Angeles Clippers), Chris Bosh (Miami), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Rudy Gay (Memphis), Eric Gordon (New Orleans), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Dwight Howard (Orlando), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia), LeBron James (Miami), Kevin Love (Minnesota), Lamar Odom (Dallas), Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), Derrick Rose (Chicago), Dwyane Wade (Miami), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Deron Williams (New Jersey).
