The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They automatically qualified for the Olympics by winning the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014. The team was coached by Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University, with assistant coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Tom Thibodeau (New York Knicks), and Monty Williams.
The 2016 team consisted of just two returning players from the 2012 Olympic gold-medal winning team, Kevin Durant and the new team captain, Carmelo Anthony.
The following were also candidates to make the team:
On August 12, 2015, USA Basketball announced that 19 NBA players would participate in the following day's 2015 USA Basketball Showcase in Las Vegas, where they were divided into two squads, USA Blue and USA White, with USA Blue being coached by USA National Team assistant coach Monty Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder), and USA White being coached by fellow USA National Team assistant coach Tom Thibodeau (Minnesota Timberwolves).
The Blue Team included starters Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors), and Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons), with reserve players Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets), Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings), Amir Johnson (Boston Celtics), Victor Oladipo (Orlando Magic), and Elfrid Payton (Orlando Magic).
The White Team included starters Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), and Michael Carter-Williams (Milwaukee Bucks), with reserve players Mason Plumlee (Portland Trail Blazers), Terrence Jones (Houston Rockets), Arron Afflalo (New York Knicks), and Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors). C. J. Watson (Orlando Magic) was included in the roster announcement but did not play.
The United States' 12-man roster began its exhibition schedule against 2004 Olympic champion Argentina. They also faced 2015 FIBA Asia gold medalist China and 2015 FIBA Americas champion Venezuela. The schedule concluded with 2015 FIBA Africa champion Nigeria in Houston. The United States Olympic Committee used Houston as a departure point for many Olympic teams, providing them with credentials and provisions on their way out to Brazil.