Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley among 44 finalists for the Olympic team

Utah Jazz guards Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley were among the 44 finalists named by USA Basketball on Monday for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.

The 12-player roster will be announced later this year.

Mitchell was a member of the USA’s 2019 FIBA World Cup Team which played to a disappointing seventh-place finish in China this past summer before the start of the NBA season. All 12 members of that roster are among the 44 finalists for the Olympic team.

The list of finalists also includes nine members of the gold medal-winning 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, and seven gold medalists from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

Three-time Olympic medalist LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the marquee name on the list. Many of the biggest names in the NBA are also among the finalists, including Anthony Davis of the Lakers; Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Nets; Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green of the Warriors; Kawhi Leonard and Paul George of the Clippers; James Harden and Russell Westbrook of the Rockets; and Chris Paul of the Thunder.

Mitchell, named this year as a first-time All-Star, is averaging 24.3 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.4 minutes per contest. Conley is averaging 13.3 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game.

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games will be held July 24 through Aug. 9 in Tokyo.

Twelve nations will compete in the men’s basketball competition. In addition to host Japan, other qualifying nations include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain, and the United States. Jazz center Rudy Gobert competed for the French national team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup — famously earning a victory over the Mitchell-led USA squad — and is expected to compete for France in Tokyo.

The final four teams for the Tokyo Olympics will come from among 24 nations attempting to qualify through FIBA’s four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will attempt to lead the Croatian team to one of those spots, as his nation will host one of the six-team qualifiers, which will also feature Germany, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, and Tunisia.