Utah Jazz guards Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell have been named finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.
Conley and Mitchell are among 44 NBA stars who will now compete for a chance to represent the United States this summer in Tokyo. USA Basketball officials will select its final 12-man roster later this year.
“This is the first step in USA Basketball identifying the 12 players who will represent the United States as members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in Tokyo,” said Jerry Colangelo, who has served as the managing director of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team since 2005. “The commitment, desire and excitement of all of our athletes to represent their country is genuine and remarkable. All of the finalists are exceptionally gifted athletes who offer us amazing versatility and depth, and the group of finalists features a range of players from those who are very experienced and accomplished in international basketball to players who will be future international stars.
“Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”
Conley was previously named a finalist for the 2016 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.
Mitchell, meanwhile, got his first taste of USA Basketball last summer, competing for his country in the FIBA World Cup. And the third-year guard has made it clear he wants to suit up for the U.S. and coach Gregg Popovich at the Olympics.
“I loved playing for him. I loved representing my country,” Mitchell said recently. “… Hopefully this summer we can go at it again.”
The 44 finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team are: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat); LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns); Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat); Mike Conley (Utah Jazz); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs); Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets); Paul George (L.A. Clippers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Montrezl Harrell (L.A. Clippers); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers); Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics); Dwight Howard (Los Angeles Lakers); Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans); Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets); LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors); JaVale McGee (Los Angeles Lakers); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers); Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder); Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
The 2020 Olympic Games will be held July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo. In total, 12 nations will compete in the men’s basketball competition. So far, the United States, Japan, Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria and Spain have qualified for the games.