The Charlotte Hornets have a couple of players who could really blossom into NBA superstars in the next few seasons: Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. Ball, already a one-time All-Star and 25-ppg scorer in the NBA, and Miller, a Rising Star who cracked 20 points per game in his injury-shortened 2024-25, could end up being Olympians, too.
With how much international talent is in the NBA now and how the best American players (Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant) are all but done with the Olympics, Team USA is going to have to dig deep for players in 2028 when they host the Olympics.
There will be some holdovers from the gold medal team in 2024, but there will also be a lot of new faces. In 2028, Miller and Ball are considered longshots not likely to make the roster, but CBS Sports insider Colin Ward-Henninger said they were "on the radar."
They were there alongside Mikal Bridges, Evan Mobley, Jaylen Brown, Cooper Flagg, Amen Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, De'Aaron Fox, and Trey Murphy III.
Those who made the team were Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Brunson, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum.
However, should veterans like Davis and Booker not sign on, there could be spots open. Plus, both Miller and Ball will be firmly in their primes with plenty of room for upward growth between now and then. Ball will be 27 in 2028, and Miller will be 26. That's arguably in an athlete's prime, and both have shown that they're talented enough to get a look even now.
It will require some evolution in their games, though. Ball has the advantage of playing internationally before since he passed on college to play overseas, but he's currently still viewed as an inefficient, non-winning player.
Miller just doesn't have the experience, and neither player has been in anything except a blowout in the Play-In Tournament as far as big games go. Still, with Team USA losing some crucial cogs between now and 2028, there is absolutely a world where Ball and Miller land on the roster.
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