Bam Adebayo and Victor Oladipo have been named in USA’s 44-man provisional squad for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9.
The US-born NBA stars of Nigerian descent are part of the 25 players listed who do not have an Olympic or World Cup gold for America.
Miami Heat star Adebayo attended last summer’s USA Basketball trial camp in Las Vegas ahead of the FIBA 2019 World Cup, but was dropped.
Adebayo has averaged 16.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.2 blocks per game this season while Oladipo recently returned from a long injury layoff.
While there is no guarantee that either player will make the final cut for Team USA, being named finalists is surely a step in the right direction.
The final 12-man squad will be announced in June.
Adebayo, who has been selected for next Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, told Sun Sentinel that he was unaware of his inclusion.
“I didn’t have anything to do with that,” he said.
“I’m just trying to win these games. I’m not worried about any of these outside distractions now.”
“It didn’t come from me,” he said.
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