The best American players to never play for Team USA (since 1992)
USA Basketball started selecting NBA players for Team USA at the Olympics in 1992. Things were kicked off with a bang, as the Dream Team, arguably the greatest basketball team ever assembled, dominated their way to a gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
With Kawhi Leonard dropping out of the 2024 Olympic Games and the controversy surrounding Jaylen Brown’s Team USA snub this summer – after winning Finals MVP, no less – we thought it’d be a good time to take a look back at the best American basketball players to never play for USA Basketball.
Spoiler alert: Brown won’t be on this list because he played for Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The Americans finished in seventh place in that tournament and Brown averaged 7.9 points over eight appearances, just for your information.
Below, check out the best American players to never play for Team USA (since 1992).
Note: We are not counting youth-level Team USA appearances. This is only for the senior team.