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DeMarcus Cousins Named to 2016 Men's Basketball Olympic Team Roster

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is among 12 players who have been selected to participate in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, announced by USA Basketball today.

“The opportunity to represent my country at the Olympic Games is one of the greatest honors I’ve experienced in my career,” said Cousins. “I’m excited to contribute towards USA Basketball’s winning legacy and continuing its tremendous reputation around the world.”

A two-time NBA All-star and Team USA participant since 2007 when he helped the USA Blue Team win a silver medal in the Youth Development Festival, Cousins was also named to the USA Junior National Select Team that competed at the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit before being tabbed as a member of the USA Basketball Select Team that trained against the 2012 U.S. Olympic squad. He was named to the 2014-16 USA Men’s National Team on Jan. 23, 2014, contributing 9.6 points (team-high 70.2 FG%), 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.30 steals in 13.8 minutes per contest as part of Team USA’s FIBA World Cup gold medal.

Cousins is coming off his best statistical campaign as a professional, posting 26.9 points (.451 FG%, .720 FT%, .333 3pt%), 11.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.61 steals, 1.43 blocks per game, including 47 double-doubles.

Selected along with Cousins for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, which is seeking a third consecutive Olympic title, were: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks/Syracuse); Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors/North Carolina); Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls/Marquette); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors/USC); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder/Texas); Paul George (Indiana Pacers/Fresno State); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors/Michigan State); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers/Duke); DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers/Texas A&M); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors/Villanova); and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors/Washington State).

The 2014-16 USA Basketball National Team coaching staff features Duke University Hall of Fame mentor Mike Krzyzewski, who since being named in 2005 head mentor of the USA National Team program has compiled a spectacular 75-1 record and led the USA to 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medals and 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Cup titles. He will be assisted by Syracuse University Hall of Fame mentor Jim Boeheim, Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams.

The USA National Team will train July 18-21 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Americans’ Las Vegas training concludes July 22 (6:00 p.m. PDT) with the USA Basketball Showcase presented By Verizon that features the USA facing Argentina at the T-Mobile Arena.

The U.S. will play two exhibition games versus 2015 FIBA Asia zone champ China, the first at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at 5 p.m. (PDT) on July 24 and the second at 7 p.m. (PDT) on July 26 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Continuing its exhibition tour in Chicago, the USA will play on July 29 at 8 p.m. (CDT) at the United Center versus 2015 FIBA Americas gold medalist Venezuela and will conclude the USA Basketball Showcase facing 2015 FIBA Africa zone champion Nigeria on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. (CDT) in Houston at the Toyota Center.

Tickets for the USA Basketball Showcase exhibition games are on sale now. VIP ticket packages available in select markets. For ticket information visit usab.com/showcase.

The U.S. men have collected a medal in all 17 Olympics in which they have competed, including 14 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 130-5 (.963 winning percentage) all-time record in Olympic action, and since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 45-3 in six Olympics, capturing five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Since the formation of USA Basketball’s national team program in 2006, USA National Teams have compiled a spectacular 75-1 record and claimed top honors in five of six FIBA and FIBA Americas competitions. Currently, USA national teams enjoy a 63-game win streak (45 straight wins in FIBA and FIBA Americas competitions and 18 consecutive wins in exhibition games). The streaks dates back to the bronze medal game (Sept. 2, 2006) of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

The USA also currently enjoys a 17-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Since first fielding a USA Basketball team of legendary NBA stars in 1992, USA Basketball National Teams comprised of NBA players have claimed gold medals in 14 of 16 major international basketball competitions, while compiling an impressive 126-7 overall record (.947 winning percentage) in those competitions and a record of 46-1 (.979 winning percentage) in exhibition games.

2016 Rio Olympic Games

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Twelve nations will compete in the 2016 Olympic men’s basketball competition. Nations qualified for the Olympic competition include the host country, Brazil; the United States, which earned its berth by virtue of claiming the gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup; Africa zone champ Nigeria; Venezuela (gold medalist) and Argentina (silver medalist) from FIBA Americas; FIBA Asia gold medalist China; Spain (gold medalist) and Lithuania (silver medalist) from FIBA Europe; and FIBA Oceania gold medalist Australia.

FIBA will host three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT), from which the remaining three nations will earn a berth to the Olympics. A total of 18 nations, six teams in each tournament, will compete for the right to advance to Rio. Turin, Italy, will host one OQT from July 4-10, and the field features Croatia, Greece, Iran, Italy, Mexico, and Tunisia. Belgrade, Serbia, will host the second OQT from July 4-10, with hopefuls Angola, Czech Republic, Latvia, Japan, Puerto Rico and Serbia. The third and final FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be held in Manila, Philippines, July 5-11, and countries competing there are Canada, France, New Zealand, Philippines, Senegal and Turkey. The gold medalist from each of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments will punch its ticket to the 2016 Olympic men’s basketball tournament.

Men’s basketball preliminary play at the ’16 Olympics will be held Aug. 6-15, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Aug. 17, semifinals on Aug. 19 and the gold and bronze medal games on Aug. 21.

For further information about USA Basketball, go to the official Website of USA Basketball at www.usab.com and connect with us on facebook.com/usabasketball, twitter.com/usabasketball, plus.google.com/+usabasketball, instagram.com/usabasketball and youtube.com/usab.


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