The United States will be looking for its fourth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball at the Summer Olympics next month, and a key member of the Chicago Bulls will reportedly be heading to Tokyo to help them in their quest.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Bulls guard Zach LaVine will be one of the 12 players included on the team’s roster for the Tokyo Games:
LaVine will join some of the NBA’s biggest stars in the tournament, with James Harden, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Damian Lillard highlighting another strong American squad.
LaVine was named to the NBA All-Star Game roster for the first time in his career earlier this year. He appeared in 58 games for the Bulls, averaging a career high 27.4 points and five rebounds per game. He also averaged 4.9 assists per contest, also a career high.
The talented shooting guard will join a men’s basketball team has captured the last three gold medals and six of the last seven since NBA players were allowed to compete in the tournament. In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the U.S. men defeated Serbia 96-66 in the gold medal game.
This year’s team will have plenty of firepower, but several big-name players will not be making the trip abroad, including Lakers superstar LeBron James, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.
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The United States will begin its Olympic run on July 25 when they take on France in the preliminary round.
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