Bam Adebayo invited to play for Team USA in 2024 Paris Olympics

Team USA’s frontcourt for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics should be the most talented in the field.

Not long after news broke that the Philadelphia 76ers center and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid would suit up for the Americans in next summer’s Olympics, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo confirmed that he has received an invitation to suit up for the red, white, and blue’s 12-man roster, as well.

Following Miami’s training camp practice on Thursday, Adebayo told reporters that he has received an invitation to play for Team USA. The former Kentucky Wildcat added that whether or not he accepts it depends on his health, but if he’s at 100 percent, he’ll be headed to Paris in 2024 to represent his country.

For those wondering about Bam Adebayo's USA Basketball status, as we have previously reported, he's committed to a spot on the 12-man roster. He will be on the Olympic team — assuming health, etc., etc. It's that simple.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 5, 2023

If Adebayo follows through, it will be his first appearance with Team USA since winning a gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He had been cut by the program in 2019 ahead of the World Cup in China, where the United States finished in seventh place.

During Adebayo’s debut with Team USA two years ago, he appeared in and started all six games en route to winning gold. The 6-foot-9 big man averaged 6.3 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per outing on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. Adebayo was the second-youngest player on the roster at the time (24). Next to Embiid, the United States will trot out arguably the world’s top frontcourt in 2024.

If he were to play again on Team USA next summer, Adebayo would be coached by his current NBA head coach Erik Spoelstra, who is an assistant for the Americans under head coach Steve Kerr.

“I think it’s awesome for Bam,” Spoelstra said, per the Miami Herald. “I think it’s continuing to help establish him as one of the ultimate winners in this league. He was one of the most impactful players in USA Basketball, and we understand why. I don’t even know what his stats were in the Olympics. But in talking to everybody at Team USA, they felt like he was a must for that roster because of everything he does on both ends of the court and because he’s such a winner.”

Adebayo, 26 and entering his seventh season in the NBA, is coming off his second All-Star appearance in 2022-23. He averaged a career-best 20.4 points this past season to go along with 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 54.0 percent shooting. Next to six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, the duo led Miami to the NBA Finals for the second time in four years, although they lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets.