May 11, 2023 - 16:01
By nbcsports.com

What a U.S. men’s basketball roster looks like based on All-NBA teams

The All-NBA teams released Wednesday indicate a hypothetical but ideal U.S. men’s basketball roster for this summer’s FIBA World Cup, and early top candidates for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For the first time in history, four or the five players on the All-NBA first team are international — center Joel Embiid (Cameroon, though he is also eligible to represent France and the U.S.), forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) and guards Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada).

That’s another sign that a U.S. team that doesn’t have a large group of its best players will be vulnerable come the World Cup in August and September in the Philippines and the Paris Games. The U.S. World Cup roster is not expected to be named until after the NBA Finals.

In total, Americans filled nine of the 15 slots on the All-NBA first, second and third teams. Players who also received votes were also announced, which allows creating this fantasy roster of the top 12 U.S. players from the past regular season (as voted on by people who cover the NBA):

Guards: Donovan Mitchell (second team, 349 vote points), Stephen Curry (second team, 188 vote points), De’Aaron Fox (third team, 144 vote points), Damian Lillard (third team 137 vote points) Forwards: Jayson Tatum (first team, 484 vote points), Jimmy Butler (second team, 182 vote points), Jaylen Brown (second team, 169 vote points), Julius Randle (third team, 125 vote points), LeBron James (third team, 81 vote points) Centers: Anthony Davis (also receiving votes, 65 vote points), Bam Adebayo (also receiving votes, 9 vote points)