Team USA’s backcourt for the 2017 Summer Olympics in Tokyo has just gotten a little more potent. Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic say that Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal will join the club in its quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal. Damian Lillard is already in tow to man one guard spot.
Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal has committed to Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics, sources tell me and @joevardon. Beal joins Portland’s Damian Lillard, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Golden State’s Draymond Green among initial pledges.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2021
Beal joins the team as the fourth guy to commit, according to Charania. Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics have already committed to traveling to Tokyo as members of the national squad. Tatum and Beal are, of course, close friends because they are both from St. Louis.
Beal has only competed for the United States at the youth level, winning gold medals with the U16s in 2009 and the U17s the following year at competitions. He’s coming off arguably his best season as a player, in which he was named to the NBA’s third team and just missed out on the scoring title to Steph Curry. In 35.8 minutes per game, Beal averaged 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals.
USA Basketball is slated to hold a training camp that begins on July 6, with the men’s tournament in Tokyo beginning on July 25.
