Generational shift could give Kings star spot on Team USA for 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles
Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox could be part of Team USA when the United States men’s national team goes to Los Angeles in search of its sixth consecutive gold medal at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
NBA.com recently released a list of 12 players who could represent the United States four years from now when the Olympic Games return to California for the first time since 1984. Fox was included on the list along with other young NBA stars such as Paolo Banchero, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren and Jayson Tatum.
Team USA could include a number of first-time Olympians as the NBA undergoes a generational shift in the coming years. The team that led the United States to a gold medal in Paris featured LeBron James, 39, Steph Curry, 36, Kevin Durant, 35, Anthony Davis, 31, and Joel Embiid, 30, aging superstars who might not be back in 2028.
That could create an opening for Fox, a dynamic 26-year-old point guard who came out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He was named an All-Star and an All-NBA Third Team selection in 2023 after leading the Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2006, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
Fox averaged 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.6 deflections last season, establishing career highs in points, rebounds and steals. He was eighth in the NBA in scoring, first in deflections (269) and tied for first in steals.
USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill will continue to oversee the selection process after assembling the team that defeated Serbia to capture the gold medal in Paris.
“Over four years, a lot can and will happen,” Hill recently told reporters. “Now, getting away from it a little bit, just letting things play out and see how guys continue to develop and see what kind of season guys have over the next year or so. And then, at some point, you start that process all over again.”
Fox withdrew his name from consideration for Team USA’s FIBA World Cup team in 2019 after being called up from the USA Select Team. ESPN’s Amin Elhassan speculated Fox would not be invited back by then-USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo, but a USA Basketball representative dismissed that notion, telling The Sacramento Bee that Team USA “understands De’Aaron’s decision.”
In October 2023, Fox was one of 41 players named to the player pool for the 2024 Olympic team. Barring something unforeseen, Fox will likely be part of the pool again in 2028 with a realistic chance of making the team.
Here is NBA.com’s list of 12 players who could represent the United States in 2028: Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat; Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic; Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns; Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks; Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves; De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings; Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder; Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics; and Derrick White, Boston Celtics.
