• Damian Lillard would be interested in being a part of Team USA next season
• He acknowledged how LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are the only three players that can get in by just declaring their availability
• Lillard isn’t sure whether he’d be called up and also weighed the cost of playing against spending time with his family
Damian Lillard could be among the guard rotation for a stacked Team USA roster in the 2024 Olympics. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are already expected to participate next year in the Olympics, but would Lillard want to be alongside them? He revealed his true thoughts on the BACKONFIGG podcast.
“I ain’t got the luxury to just say that I’ll be going. They said ‘Bron is picking the team. I don’t know. I f**k with ‘Bron. They got a whole process to pick the team, so we’ll see, I don’t know. I think the only n***as that can be like ‘I’m going’ are ‘Bron, Steph, and KD. They’re the only ones that can be like ‘I’m on the team’.”
It seems Lillard is interested but doesn’t want to declare his name in the mix until he knows for sure that Team USA would want him on the squad. Given there are a limited amount of roster spots and the best American players are interested in playing, Lillard will have to beat out guards like Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, Chris Paul, James Harden, and more, if everyone declares their availability.
Damian Lillard Couldn’t Excel At The 2020 Olympics
Damian Lillard was the starting point guard of the Team USA roster that participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in the summer of 2021. Unfortunately, Lillard played really poorly due to an abdominal injury but got to celebrate winning something as a professional player for the first time when the USA won Gold.
“My last Olympics, I had a bad abdominal injury. I would want to do it to get a healthy one in because I was hurt like a motherf***er. I ended up having surgery right after that. But just to get a healthy one in, being able to play with all of them, being able to step outside my role in the NBA and just catch-and-shoot, get up and down, that’ll be cool. I really don’t know, I got kids, so that’s time-consuming.”
Lillard averaged 11.2 points and 3.2 assists in the Olympics, shooting 38.3% from the field and 34.8% from three. He played a very small role in the team that was led by Kevin Durant to the Gold. That abdominal injury also made Lillard miss most of the 2021-22 season, as he played just 29 games for the Blazers while openly struggling with the injury.
Damian Lillard Needs To Cement His Spot For The 2024 Olympics
In my opinion, Lillard should be an easy choice for the guard group in Team USA. If the team is going to serve as the Last Dance of many USA greats, Lillard should be included in that group. He will be 34 years old when the Olympics tip off next season, making this likely his final chance to represent Team USA.
Jalen Brunson’s disappointing performances in the FIBA World Cup may keep him out of contention, but Tyrese Haliburton could be a genuine contender to make the roster. Given the nature of the roster, Chris Paul or James Harden being included cannot be ruled out, but I would prefer Lillard over either of those names, given the scoring punch he can provide. He’s also a better off-ball player than both and would fit in well with the superstar-led Team USA roster.
His performances in the 2023-24 season will be crucial in deciding whether he has earned a trip to Lille and Paris next season. Hopefully, he gets to play it on a team he wants to be on instead of soft quitting and forcing his way to a favorable situation.
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