Being the one who assembles the roster for the country’s Olympic basketball squad has to be a taxing task to undertake. As for being the man charged with making final decisions on playing time and divvying up floor minutes? That’s another taxing job altogether—ask Steve Kerr. The 4x NBA champion head coach received much scrutiny throughout last summer’s Olympics due to his decision not to play Jayson Tatum in some games. Overall, though, Kerr did a good job of leading Team USA from the sidelines. Yesterday in a Golden State Warriors win over Orlando, Kerr had some high praise for Magic superstar Paolo Banchero as it relates to the Olympics last summer. As Kerr would point out, Banchero was on the cusp of making the team and should have no problems making it in 2028.
Magics Paolo Banchero Close to Making ’24 Olympic Squad
Steve Kerr Had Orlando Magic Star Paolo Banchero ‘Right In the Mix’ for Paris Olympics Team
Banchero has represented Team USA before in 2023 during the FIBA Cup event. That roster featured only two players who would eventually go on to make the ’24 Olympics team in Paris: Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton. Where Edwards played significant minutes in Paris, Haliburton was extremely limited in a bench role. Nevertheless, he won gold, so he likely walked away feeling pretty good with the results. Both Haliburton and Edwards should repeat their Team USA selections in 2028. As for Banchero, it’s expected he, too, will join that squad in Los Angeles.
Kerr feels confident about Banchero’s chances, admitting he would be surprised if the Magic forward didn’t make the cut. Of course, Banchero was close to making the cut last summer but ultimately fell short. According to the Orlando Sentinal’s Jason Beede, Kerr raved about Banchero yesterday when his Warriors faced the Magic in Orlando.
“He was right in the mix [until] the last second for Paris,” Kerr said. “That’s how strongly we felt about him in the Philippines during the World Cup. He’s such a talented guy and versatile. … he was right in the mix and ultimately it just came down to roster construction, what we needed. We ended up deciding more on guard play than frontcourt. But yeah, he’s a great young guy. Really enjoyed coaching him and amazingly talented.”
’28 Prospects Look Favorable
One of the reasons for Banchero’s absence on the ’24 Paris team could be that several veterans also made the trip. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry would be the main culprits in this regard. With three roster spots going to those legends, the door to making the team was significantly tighter. That being said, it’s unlikely that LeBron and Curry reprise their roles in ’28. Durant’s stance on Los Angeles sounds different, as he said as much to Draymond Green on The Draymond Green Show earlier this week. KD is certainly open to going for a fifth gold medal.
Banchero’s chances of joining KD already look better. Plus, the Magic forward has three more years of NBA basketball to further advertise himself worthy of a Team USA selection. Considering his talent and skill set and the trajectory he has Orlando playing in, it would be a surprise if he didn’t make the cut. But if Kerr’s intuitions are on point, Banchero shouldn’t have much to worry about.
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