Team USA is sure to be filled with many NBA stars when it reaches the Olympics next summer.
But which stars will be part of the team trying to redeem itself after a disappointing World Cup showing?
Will Guillory of The Athletic believes that Team USA needs to make sure Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat is part of the squad.
In his piece, shared by Dru on Twitter, he said that Adebayo “brings two attributes that the US FIBA World Cup team lacked this summer: interior defense and rebounding.”
“There’s one more name [USA] must secure…for the 2024 Olympics: Bam Adebayo
Bam is the ideal piece to ensure other countries won’t push the U.S. around as easily as they did during the FIBA Cup
The drop-off from Bam is steep. Jackson is next in line, but he struggled in FIBA” https://t.co/R3n88ArMdn pic.twitter.com/ZzzSwidk9e
— Dru (@dru_star) September 15, 2023
“Adebayo is the ideal piece to ensure other countries won’t push the US around as easily as they did during the World Cup,” Guillory writes.
He makes a good point: Adebayo is definitely the type of player Team USA was missing this summer.
They had a strong group of shooters, players who were capable of making buckets from all over the court.
But they felt smaller than most of their opponents.
They had Jaren Jackson Jr. running defense but he experienced a share of problems and clearly wasn’t enough.
Adebayo would be able to take the team’s defense and offense to the next level.
You are going to see a lot of stories, editorials, and think pieces like this one in the months ahead.
That is because Team USA is wide open before next summer.
There has been talk of players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant suiting up for the national team in 2024.
But which other players will be called upon?
More importantly, how will the team improve its lack of defense and size?
Adebayo will most certainly be sought after by Team USA.
Will he take on the role they offer him?
