A report says numerous NBA execs believe the Mavericks' teenage star is the future of USA Basketball.
DALLAS - We are two years away from the 2028 LA Olympics, and with the world-class event taking place on home soil, the hosting opportunity comes at a rather unfortunate time for including the best basketball players of this generation.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden. The United States' top talents are on the downswing of their careers.
Though they led Team USA to a gold medal in Paris in 2024, its likely that fresh blood will be at the forefront of the team as the Olympics come to Los Angeles.
Who will be on the team? NBC Sports reporter Kurt Helin polled top NBA executives to see who the league's best minds had eyes on.
Of the six "locks", the one potentially making his Olympics debut is Dallas Mavericks phenom Cooper Flagg. Other young stars include Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Cade Cunningham, and Bam Adebayo - all of whom were at the Paris Games.
Edwards out-performed his early-20s age next to the vets. While Haliburton and Tatum saw more time on the bench than they're used to, some believe that treatment won't come to Flagg.
"When I posed a roster question to one former Team USA member, he said, 'Cooper Flagg starts' before I finished the sentence," Hurlin said. "He’s probably right. Cunningham also seems a lock with his size and two-way play."
Flagg, 19, will have just been allowed to have a glass of champagne after getting the call for the 2028 team. If the 6-9 do-everything forward continues type of play we saw in his debut season in Dallas, the world is in trouble.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft led all rookies last season, averaging 21.0 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists a night. He showed instant impact on both ends of the floor with an athletic frame that can play above the rim and defend anyone on the court.
With Team USA entering a new era as the future Hall of Famers move on, it makes sense why Flagg might be handed the keys to the team. Edwards, Cunningham, and Haliburton might still be ascending into their primes in two years with Flagg.
But that youth could present challenges.
"This roster would be the gold medal favorite — but this is shaping up to be the toughest road to gold the USA has ever seen," Hurlin predicts.
Until then, we'll see how Flagg takes over the Mavs' team before potentially leading Team USA into a run for a sixth-straight gold.
