The US Olympic Basketball Solution: Meet the Opportuniteam
LeBron James responded to a question following the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Playoffs ouster against the Phoenix Suns that was part joke, part free advertising for his upcoming (and almost assuredly terrible) movie.
The commercial for Space Jam 2 (in theaters in July!!!!!) notwithstanding, LeBron touches on a salient point here: The NBA has an Olympics problem, or the Olympics have an NBA problem, depending on your perspective.
With the Bubble restart of 2020 extending the COVID-19-impacted campaign into September/October for the NBA’s better teams, and the 2020-21 season tipping off in December, members of playoff qualifiers in each of the last two years have played 9-of-11 months consecutively.
Adding an additional month for the Tokyo Games, leading into the 2021-22 season, is untenable, and expecting top-tier NBA players like LeBron, Damian Lillard, and Kawhi Leonard to make that commitment isn’t a fair ask.
Of course, the current incarnation of USA Basketball takes great pride in setting the standard for the rest of the world and that means sending the best players. No one wants to go back to sending college players in adherence to the ideal of Olympic amateurism — a wholly sham concept, given NCAA representatives were facing longtime pros like Oscar Schmidt and Arvydas Sabonis.
But, sending second-tier or not-quite-ready-for-primetime players similarly blew up at the 2004 Athens Games.
My solution is twofold: all nations avoid NBA players who have advanced to the Playoffs in the last two years. That means no pressure on Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic or R.J. Barrett to join their National teams.
Second, to avoid punishing the United States by virtue of it simply producing the vast majority of NBA players and pitting a lesser team against highly seasoned EuroLeague pros, is for the Tokyo Games only, mandating a 21-and-under rule.
That gives these extraordinary Olympics an equally extraordinary platform for introducing the world to younger talent and creating new stars.
Following these guidelines, I have put together a Team USA roster that combines young NBA talent who did not reach the Playoffs with college stars, all of whom are 21 or younger. My lineup excludes incoming rookies, who will be participating in the Las Vegas Summer League’s return from hiatus. That means no Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs or Evan Mobley.
I’m also committed enough the 21-year age limit that I’m leaving off Saddiq Bey, who’s 22. I can’t lie, that was hard for me. But there are plenty of others to fill the spots.
Keeping in the line with history of Olympic squad themes — Dream Team of 1992, Redeem Team of 2008, etc. — this is my OpportuniTeam.
G - LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Ostensibly poised to be one of the two faces of this dreamed-up team, LaMelo Ball proved he can live up to any pressure or hype thrown at him. His dad’s boisterous personality made LaMelo a public figure long before he ever played a pro game, and his viral high-school highlights made him an enemy of basketball purists.
A season in the Australian NBL’s Next Stars program gave Ball an opportunity to sharpen his skills, and he matured in a spotlight that would cause others to wilt. His rookie season exceeded even some of the most optimistic projections. Altogether, his experiences make Ball an ideal Olympic leader.
G - Johnny Juzang, UCLA
I am fudging a bit on my criteria with the breakout star of UCLA’s Final Four run, as Johnny Juzang entered his name into the 2021 NBA draft pool and could instead be bound for Las Vegas. However, Juzang maintains his eligibility amid the evaluation process, and I would be much more surprised if he doesn’t return to Westwood than if he does.
Juzang was a streaky scorer during UCLA’s regular season, to an almost infuriating extent. Come March Madness, however, he find a consistent groove and was central to the Bruins’ deep Tournament run. Juzang shot a little better than 35 percent from beyond the arc last season, a testament to his streakiness, but he knocked down three-plus in four of UCLA’s Tournament games. Juzang is on the cusp of stardom, and playing against and with elite competition would push him over that hump.
G - Coby White, Chicago Bulls
Playing for the most disappointing team of the Roy Williams era at North Carolina might have clouded perceptions of Coby White — admittedly, it’s the case for me. I slept on his All-Rookie 2019-20 season with the Bulls, but paying some more attention to his 2020-21, I came to appreciate White’s rapid development as an offensive wing.
He averaged north of 15 points per game and dished nearly five assists per game. His progress could take another big leap in the year to come.
G - R.J. Hampton, Orlando Magic
The other participant in the 2019-20 NBL Next Stars program, R.J. Hampton made far less of an impact in Australia than LaMelo Ball. His arrival in the NBA last fall came with little fanfare, and Hampton struggled to see the floor early on in his tenure with the Denver Nuggets.
Late in the season, after being moved to Orlando as part of the Aaron Gordon trade, Hampton seemed to pick up on the speed and style of professional basketball and pushed his scoring average over 11 points per game. He was May’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, and should build on that heading into 2021-22.
Hampton’s perhaps better suited to joining the Summer League to continue his growth, but his international experience and fast-rising profile make him a fit for the OpportuniTeam.
G - Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Darius Garland is going to be a star for a contending team in his NBA career, I am certain. A dangerous scorer and elite distributor, Garland was good enough in his 17.4-point, 6.8-assist second season that some argued he’d eclipsed volume-scoring backcourt mate Collin Sexton (who, at 22, misses the cut for my parameters).
Garlands offensive skill set has shades of Gary Payton, who was an underrated cog in the 1996 and 2000 Gold Medal-winning teams with his table-setting. Although not as flashy as LaMelo at the point, Garland could be the better option for late-game situations.
F - Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
While the majority of this fantasy roster features up-and-coming talent, hence the “opportunity” moniker, Zion Williamson is enough of a star already that the NBA essentially stretched last summer’s Bubble to include the Pelicans.
Although Zion is already a massive TV draw — which, NBC executives surely wouldn’t mind for marketing the Tokyo Games — he meets the criteria for my Olympic team: 20 years old, has yet to make the Playoffs, and stands to benefit from the international experience. While he averaged 27 points and more than seven rebounds per game for the Pelicans this past regular season, being The Man on the Olympic stage would prime Zion to take the next step as a team leader.
F - Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga
He has yet to play his first collegiate game, but Chet Holmgren is already something of a social-media sensation. The lengthy Minnesotan figures to be the most talked-about player of the 2021-22 college basketball campaign already. Imagine how much buzz a Gonzaga team poised to again contend for the national championship would have with the freshman coming in off an Olympic performance?
Choosing Holmgren and not established college-star teammate Drew Timme was a tough decision, but Holmgren’s style is better suited to the FIBA game.
F - Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards should win the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year in a walk — emphasis on should. LaMelo’s higher public profile might influence voters, and Edwards playing in the NBA purgatory of Minnesota, after spending a single college season with a middling Georgia team, limits his exposure.
As a likely star for an Olympic team, Ant would have the stage on which to show off the explosive scoring touch that carried him to a stellar, final two months of the NBA season.
F - Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
With his decision to return to Indiana for the first year of the Mike Woodson era, Trayce Jackson-Davis positioned himself nicely to be the Hoosiers’ most prominent big man since Cody Zeller.
Jackson-Davis earned All-Big Ten recognition in each of his first two years, and late season, was quietly the second-most productive big man in the conference at 19.1 points and nine rebounds per game (Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn averaged 17.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG, and Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson posted 14.1 PPG and 7.4 RPG).
Jackson-Davis could be a Naismith Award contender in his junior season, and the chance to compete against some of the world’s best, young talent would send him in that direction.
C - Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
Speaking of Hunter Dickinson, the stellar freshman makes the cut for the OpportuniTeam after an impressive debut season that defied a lot of misconceptions about present-day basketball. The rap dictates that only positionless basketball with five out works, at least for professional purposes.
However, NBA veteran player and coach Juwan Howard establishing Dickinson on the low block bucked that notion. With Dickinson playing a key role in the offense, the Wolverines were No. 9 in KenPom.com adjusted efficiency.
As vital to Michigan’s Elite Eight run, Dickinson’s presence in the paint made Michigan the nation’s No. 4 defensive adjusted efficiency team. The international game, particularly in Europe, still makes effective use of the traditional 5 — hence why a player like Jan Vesely is such a star in EuroLeague — and having a big like Dickinson down low is a must.
C - Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons
In the same vein as Hunter Dickinson, Isaiah Stewart is an old-school, low-block workhorse who can score around the basket and mixes it up defensively. The Pistons’ young corps, in particular the rookie trio of Stewart, Saddiq Bey and French-born Killian Hayes (a prime candidate for my U-21 Olympic idea, in his own right) actually made the last-place team fun to follow for the final month of the NBA season.
Stewart’s style is an unintentional albeit perfect homage to the glory days of the Detroit Pistons. And considering that neither the Bad Boys nor the mid-2000s Pistons had representation in the Olympics, Stewart rectifies that mistake. It’s especially noteworthy in the context of 2004; I contend the 2004 disappointment could have been averted if Team USA had Ben Wallace, a big man willing to put an opponent on their backside and do all the dirty work necessary to win an international competition.