How Kevin Durant’s 2028 Olympics Teasing Could Change Everything We Thought About Team USA’s Roster

Anyone else have Olympic fever? With the 2026 Winter Olympics coming to a close, meaning no more midday curling tournaments, all our attention is now on the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles, California. After watching Kevin Durant, LeBron Jamesand Stephen Curry won a gold medal in Francewe could see these three water stars Team USA again?

This spectacle dominated the headlines and the basketball world in 2024. There was nothing better than watching these three legends win gold in France, and now, USA Basketball can do it on its home court in two years.

“THE GOLDEN DAGGER!”

Steph Curry, that is absolutely ridiculous. 🤯#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/8hIN8tgmfK

— NBC Olympics and Paralympics (@NBCOlimpics) August 10, 2024

However, with the 2024 Olympics over, it sounded like it would be the last time we’d see LeBron, KD, and Steph all play on the court together. James told reporters he would be “watching from Cabo” and Curry said he “very much doubts it.”

After all, they’re in the later stages of their careers, and it’s reasonable to believe that James won’t be in the NBA until the next Olympics.

It’s never too early to start looking at what the future of American basketball looks like, especially now that Durant is hinting that he’ll be playing in Southern California in two years, right after all the winter events in Italy.

Kevin Durant won’t close the door on the 2028 Olympics

When the 2024 Olympics ended and Team USA, led by Durant, James and Curry, took home the gold medals, everyone’s attention immediately turned to what the future of American basketball looked like.

Cooper Flagg, who had not yet been drafted, was the popular choice of many to be one of the next guys to follow in the footsteps of those legends before him. Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker, two other key contributors from the 2024 Olympic team, were also early choices to be featured team “captains.”

It may be Olympic love in the air from this year’s Winter Games, but it doesn’t look like there will be any major overhauls and changing of the guard for Team USA just yet, especially with Durant making his attitude about playing in Los Angeles clear to ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill.

“You people, the media, you predicted it,” Durant told ESPN regarding the narrative of Paris being the legend’s last Olympic run. “That narrative, where did the last dance come from? I didn’t say I wasn’t dancing. LeBron said he wasn’t. You didn’t hear that from me or Steph.”

As for the actual play, Durant’s answer was simple.

“Hell yeah, I want to play,” Durant said. “Today, yeah, I feel like I’m going to put my name in that hat.”

Well, that settles it. Kevin Durant, who will be 39 years old and on the verge of turning 40 in the summer of 2028. wants to play for the stars and stripes in the 2028 Olympics. Assuming he’s healthy and apparently doesn’t change his mind, Durant will captain the team and take one of the 12 coveted spots on the roster to defend the gold medal in front of the American faithful.

Durant is very proud of American basketball, and he made his stance on USA vs. the World clear to ESPN.

“I just don’t like the stories about how you approach the game around the US and Europe,” Durant explained. “‘France is coming for you.’ Really? We hit them with the boys.”

Viktor Vembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the faces of basketball’s rapid growth around the world, but USA basketball continues to dominate the world’s biggest stage every four years. Team USA will once again enter the 2028 Olympics as gold medal favorites, and Durant appears poised to make that dream come true once again.

It’s still a big question mark whether Curry will be there for him.

Will Stephen Curry join Kevin Durant in 2028?

Before 2024, Steph Curry has basically experienced everything there is to do in a Hall of Fame career.

He broke the league’s all-time 3-point record, won four NBA championships, led the league in scoring twice, won two MVP awards (one of which was the first unanimous selection) and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. But one empty space in Curry’s massive trophy cabinet was an Olympic gold medal.

Even though he played for Team USA in the World Cup, Steph made it point of emphasis to actually play in the 2024 Olympics and was one of the leading voices with LeBron and Durant getting the best of the best on this list.

“Personally, that’s the one thing I haven’t been able to experience: being an Olympian,” Curry told Andscape ahead of the 2024 Olympics. “I hope we win gold. At this stage in my career, it gives me the opportunity to be so present in the moment and have fun playing basketball. It’s such a pure expression of the game.”

The United States still won the gold medal as Curry had hoped, and he was the main reason the team defeated France in the gold medal game. If it wasn’t there Curry’s hero and iconic perimeter shots, Team USA may not have won the gold medal.

“It was the most surreal feeling, especially the way it ended,” Curry told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II after the 2024 Olympics. “I felt like a kid again. 12 out of 10 experience.”

If Curry had so much fun playing and winning gold in Paris, how about playing in Los Angeles and playing next to Durant again? Although LeBron would most likely not be on the team, Steph has a spot on the roster if he wants it.

He would be 40 years old by the next Olympics, making it too early to speculate whether Curry would actually consider playing in the 2028 Summer Games. Ultimately, that would be a decision made that year based on Steph’s overall health and where he is in his career, especially since the goal will be in sight.

Durant clearly wants to play, and his words suggest he wants Steph by his side. For now, we’re guessing both of these legends will wear the USA on their chest at least one more time together, which leaves 10 spots open for the remaining number of American players.

Predicting the rest of the 12-man Olympic roster

Assuming both Durant and Curry lead Team USA to the 2028 Olympics, who else will be on this roster?

Edwards and Booker, as previously mentioned, will be locked into their spots as long as they are healthy. Both stars played integral roles alongside Curry and Durant in Parisand would probably take on bigger roles as they will be at the peak of their careers in 2028.

Flagg is another safe bet, as he is coming off his third NBA season and is even better than he already is. After he trained with Team USA in 2024, everyone around the program was already raving about him leading the Americans one day.

Another guard who will very likely get one of the first calls to play in Los Angeles is Cade Cunningham. Not only has he established himself as one of the best players in the East with the Detroit Pistons, but Cunningham has turned into a legitimate MVP contender. Between his ability to play and score off the dribble, Cunningham is the perfect guard for the Olympic game.

That leaves six spots open, some of which need to be filled with frontcourt talent.

Bam Adebayo is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA and is highly regarded as one of the best defensive centers in the world. He will be 31 years old by the time of the next Olympics, and Adebayo will likely be the starting center for the Americans.

Even with the addition of Adebayo, USA Basketball will need even more height to contend with Wembanyama and other tall European players, making Chet Holmgren a viable option to make his Team USA debut since playing at the FUBA U-19 Championship.

Holmgren and Vembanjama have a the rivalry in the NBA is clearly growingand the Oklahoma City Thunder big man is one of the best rim protectors in the world.

The final center spot should now go to none other than Jalen Duren. In just his fourth NBA season, Duren has become an All-Star big man with his toughness in the paint on both ends of the floor. Duren’s athleticism stands out when watching the international game, especially with his pick-and-roll connection with Cunningham.

There are three spots left, and with Erik Spoelstra taking over for Steve Kerr on the sidelines, he’ll want solid, two-way players on the wing. Enter Jaylen Brown, who has already declared himself the best two-way player in the world and has taken his game to new heights since winning the 2024 Finals MVP.

Brown can score and defend like a top-10 player in the world, which would make him one of the key names on Team USA’s roster if the Olympics started right now.

He needs at least one more winger who can defend and score, Scotty Barnes stands out. Not only is Barnes viewed as one of the best all-around defenders in the league, but he also acts as a point forward who can do a little bit of everything on the floor. With his quick instincts as a defender and ability to push the pace, Team USA would possess the youth and athleticism it needs to keep up with the rest of the world.

And finally, one spot remains, and it’s so hard to choose from all the remaining talent.

Tyrese Halliburton and Jayson Tatum were on the 2024 Olympic team, but both players suffered severe Achilles injuries in the 2025 playoffs. Jaylen Johnson and Jaylen Williams are two young forwards on the rise, but are they ready to help lead the nation to a gold medal? Then there are All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey who will be fighting for spots.

If the Olympics were today, I’d give this final spot to Mitchell for two key reasons: dynamic scoring and perimeter shooting.

We’ve seen the importance of Curry and others hitting big threes in the 2024 Olympics and Mitchell ranks sixth in the NBA with 667 three-pointers over the last three years. He is one of the best offensive players in the NBA off the dribble, and Mitchell’s unselfish play will be needed on this team.

So here’s our early projection for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics:

• GUARDS: Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell
• WING: Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Scotty Barnes, Cooper Flagg
• BIGS: Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Duren

Of course, this isn’t the official USA team, and we’ll likely see some big changes over the next two years before the summer games in Los Angeles. Who knows if Curry will actually play, and health could clearly affect the status of any player vying for a spot on the USA Basketball roster.

Not to mention, this year’s 2026 NBA Draft has a chance to be one of the most historic in league history. Derrin Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ DiBanza, Caleb Wilson and the Kingston Flemings, among others, could easily make their mark on the NBA like Flagg and earn a spot on the Olympic team.

After all, age matters in the Olympics, and the roster is usually made up of players in their mid-to-late 20s. The 2024 Olympics were clearly out of the question, as the new-age “Dream Team” assembled by James, Durant and Curry had an average age of 30.1.

The 2028 Team USA roster will be significantly younger, faster and more athletic. If Durant and Curry are to lead this team and look to defend their gold medals one last time, we should expect to see a group of 12 players that looks something like the hypothetical team assembled above.

With the conclusion of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the countdown to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has officially begun.