The 2028 Olympic Games may now seem far away. With Eurobasket that is currently expanding and not many NBA news, projecting Team USA’s selection for 2028 can be a nice exercise. About a recent episode of the Zach Lowe Show, Lowe and Bill Simmons did exactly that. Interestingly, Minnesota Timberwolves Superstar Anthony Edwards was one of the two returning players who had both Simmons and Lowe on their projected selection, with Tyrese Haliburton the other.
This is certainly a reasonable version. Last year’s Olympic Games felt like the last dance for LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday will probably not return. Joel Embiid’s injury problems make a return unlikely, also for Anthony Davis, who will be 35, but he still has a better chance than LeBron. This leaves Ant, Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo as the most likely returners.
Yet Edwards of this group is perhaps the only player who will be 100 percent guaranteed to return based on talent and assumed interest. Edwards undoubtedly feels ready to be the face of the American basketball and the best player of the team in 2028. Simmons called Edwards the Face of USA basketball in 2028 during this segment.
At 27, Edwards is in his true Prime and will be the perfect leader for Team USA. It is not far-fetched to say that Edwards could be a legitimate top-three player, 2028.
Edwards is clearly well positioned as the face of the American basketball, but this was not always expected
In 2020, nobody even thought that Edwards would make the Olympic team. The rise of Edwards to star, however, made its place on the team an easy choice in 2024. Now Edwards is suddenly well positioned to be the face of the American basketball in 2028, and his constant improvements make this even more likely.
Edwards flourished last year in his Olympic debut, on average 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists at 58/48/58.3 shooting splits. In particular, the 12.8 points of Edwards in fourth place in the team behind the trio of Curry, LeBron and KD.
As a gifted scorer on three levels with a rare mix of athletics and knockdown shooting. The skills of Edwards makes him a perfect go-to-scorer in Olympic institutions. Moreover, he is a hard defender who plays at both ends of the floor with unparalleled passion and an unwavering trust. According to all accounts, there is no better player to represent red, white and blue.
2028 will be a special Olympic Games for Team USA, since Los Angeles is the host city. Team USA Basketball, however, may be confronted with the most difficult competition of all time. The second place of France, 2024, is led by a 24-year-old Victor Wembanyama. Nikola Jokić turns 34, but believe the best that the current best player in the world will have Serbia in the mix. Canada, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, will have a deep and talented team. Then there are teams such as Germany that also seem to perform at a high level on the international stage.
Of course Team USA will have a huge target on its back per usual. However, there is no better player to lead Team USA to his sixth straight gold medal and to herald a new era of American basketball than Edwards.
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