Along with Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the National Basketball Association (NBA) community watch Team USA clinch the gold medal at the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics. The team was led by LeBron James and had some top players like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. They went undefeated both throughout pre-Olympic international friendly games and at the Olympics. But, O'Neal feels that won't be the case when it comes to the 2028 Olympics.
How does Shaquille O'Neal feel about Team USA heading into the 2028 Olympics?
The next Olympics are set to be hosted in United States Los Angeles and the former Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal feels that Team USA won't be able to win gold. It is a possibility that Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant might be retired by then and O'Neal thinks the rest of the world will pose problems for Team USA.
So far in the history of the Olympics, Team USA has faltered on three occasions to win a gold medal. It first happened in 1972, when professionals were not allowed to compete and the USA took silver in Munich. In 1988, Team USA won bronze in Seoul.
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The third and the most recent came at the 2004 Olympics, where Team USA won bronze in Athens. While speaking to Sport Bild, Shaquille O'Neal thinks that Team USA will win either silver or bronze in 2028. He said, "Europe has caught up, is just behind and will soon overtake the USA. I'm sure the US won't take gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. LeBron James will no longer play, and Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will."
"Probably Joel Embiid will no longer be there. Then it's over with the supremacy. The European teams are really good. Croatia, Serbia, also Germany," O'Neal added.
The players who can make up the team at the 2028 Olympics
The projected rosters for the 2028 LA Olympics have begun to emerge. Team USA will have some big shoes to fill if Shaquille O'Neal's assumption is right when he says that James, Curry and Durant might have retired by then. Some players can make up the team and the names include Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Tyrese Haliburton.
With six players in contention, another six spots are open for the taking. There is a high chance that Jaylen Brown will make the 2028 squad as long as he doesn't burn any bridges after being snubbed from this year's team that secured gold in Paris.
It is also highly likely that Paolo Banchero, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Mikal Bridges will be selected leaving three open spots in the team. According to NBA.com, they have named Cade Cunningham, De'Aaron Fox and Chet Holmgren as potential candidates for the three spots remaining.
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