Four Golden State Warriors, One Sacramento King Among 28 Players Selected For Team USA Pool

Andre Iguodala (9) was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Men’s National Team in London in 2012. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

USA Basketball announced its pool of 28 players for its 2014-16 Men’s National Team pool, from which the roster for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2016 Olympics will be selected.

Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors, who was a member of the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012, is included in the pool, as are three of his Warrior teammates: Stephen Curry, David Lee and Klay Thompson. The Warriors have the most representatives in the group with four; no other NBA team has more than two.

DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings was also included in the 28-player group.

“I am humbled by the invitation and opportunity to compete for a spot on Team USA,” Cousins told CSN California (h/t CSNBayArea.com). “It would be a huge honor for me to represent my country.”

USA Basketball head coach Mike Kryzyzewski of Duke remembers Curry from the team that went 9-0 in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2010 to win the FIBA World Championship (now renamed the FIBA Basketball World Cup).

“He was a young guy on our World Championship team in Istanbul,” Kryzyzewski said Thursday (h/t CSNBayArea.com. “He’s one of the great players in the league and one of the unique players in the fact that he can play both guard positions because he’s such a terrific scorer.

“He’s an easy guy to play with, guys love him and he’s definitely not afraid. And he’s having a sensational year. I’m excited about the opportunity to coach a Curry again. I had his brother (Seth) and if I was smart I might have had Stephen on.”

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be played primarily in Madrid, Spain, with games to be held in four other Spanish cities. If the U.S. repeats as champions, the national team will get the summer of 2015 off; otherwise, they will have to participate in the FIBA Americas Championship to attempt to gain Olympic qualification.

All of the players chosen have previous experience with USA Basketball. The entire group is broken down below:

Olympic gold medalists ,2008 and 2012; bronze medalists, 2004

• Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
• LeBron James, Miami Heat

Olympic gold medalists, 2008 and 2012

• Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
• Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets

Olympic gold medalists, 2012

• Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks
• Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
• Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
• James Harden, Houston Rockets
• Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
• Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Olympic gold medalist, 2008

• Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets

Selected for 2012 Olympic roster, did not play due to injury

• Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

FIBA World Champions, 2010

• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
• NOTE: Chandler, Durant, Iguodala, Love and Westbrook were also on the 2010 World Championship roster.

2012 USA Select Team (trained against 2012 Olympic Team)

• DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
• Paul George, Indiana Pacers
• Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz
• Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
• Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

2013 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp participants

• LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers
• Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
• Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
• Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets
• Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks
• David Lee, Golden State Warriors
• Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Curry appears to have the respect of at least one former Olympian. Kevin Durant, who is in the midst of a nine-game streak of games with at least 30 points, was asked on Twitter who would win a 3-point contest between himself and Curry. His response?