Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker emerge as candidates to join Team USA’s core

USA Men’s Basketball squad for the Paris Olympics is starting to take shape.

According to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker are emerging as candidates to play for Team USA in the Olympic Games this summer in Paris.

Holiday and Booker, who were both part of the 2021 iteration of Team USA that won the gold medal in Tokyo, have been heavily pursued by USA Basketball. Team officials value Holiday’s two-way ability, point-of-attack defense and dynamic playmaking as well as Booker’s three-level scoring, according to Charania and Vardon. 

Although the final roster is not set, USA Basketball officials mentioned Holiday and Booker as heavy considerations to make the team. Superstars LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum are expected to be Team USA's core. It would be the first time that James, Curry and Durant teamed up on the international stage.

Like Holiday and Booker, Tatum was part of the gold medal-winning team in 2021, while Embiid committed to play for Team USA last July over France and his home country Cameroon. 

2023 FIBA World Cup participants Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are also names to be monitored for the squad after their impressive performances. Although Team USA had a disappointing fourth-place finish, Edwards and Haliburton emerged as the best players in Manila.

Previous Olympic gold medal winners Anthony Davis (London 2012) and Bam Adebayo (Tokyo 2021) are also being considered for additional big man depth behind Embiid.