Who Is The Future Of Team USA's Frontcourt? Taj Gibson Thinks These Two Bigs Got Next

As soon as Team USA’s campaign came to a close in 2024, analysts were already buzzing about the next Olympic Games. With the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry nearing the end of their respective careers, which stars would preserve the United States’ winning ways in 2028?

Taj Gibson, whose 17-year NBA career has spanned four Olympic cycles, thinks that Team USA can bank on two centers to anchor the frontcourt. During a brief stint with the Detroit Pistons in 2024, Gibson had the opportunity to play alongside one of these promising bigs.

“Jalen Duren, for sure,” Gibson said on a recent episode of “All the Smoke: Unplugged.” He added, “Duren brings it every night. You can tell by his physicality. He wants it.”

It’s hardly a surprise that Gibson fancies Duren for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Aside from the fact that this was a homer pick, Duren has been playing the best basketball of his young NBA career this season, earning his first-ever All-Star nod by dominating the paint for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons.

The other center that Gibson is eyeing for 2028 also hails from the East. “Bam Adebayo is a high-caliber, all-world five now,” he said. “He went from being a lob threat to a face-up threat…now he’s a pull-back, three-point threat.”

In terms of continuity, Adebayo is likely a shoo-in for the next Team USA lineup. The Heat big man competed in Tokyo and Paris, and he made solid contributions to the Americans’ gold medal campaign in both instances. Age-wise, Adebayo would be 31 while Duren would be 24 by the time the Olympic festivities get underway in the City of Angels.

Duren and Adebayo, however, would have their work cut out for them. Victor Wembayama is still seething after France came within minutes of winning gold on their home soil in 2024. Nikola Jokic is far from satisfied with Serbia’s bronze medal finish, and Giannis Antetokounmpo wants Greece to make serious noise in two years’ time.

The world is threatening to knock Team USA off its perch, but as far as Gibson is concerned, his national squad is in good shape when it comes to the center position. “Our bigs are growing,” he declared.