With the Paris Olympics frenzy getting settled, the discussion on LA28 has already started. Rest assured, predictions have already started to come on who could join the national team, with young stars like Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton expected to return. In the meantime, a former Golden State Warriors player discusses the situation of two previously snubbed stars, while also including a choice that not many may be enthusiastic about.

Gilbert Arenas recently laid out his Dream ‘2028 LA Olympics’ roster on a segment of the ‘Gil’s Arena’ show published earlier today. When discussing why players like Ja Morant and Zion Williamson can’t make the team, Arenas stated: “He will have to have four years of cleanliness for him (Morant) to be on the team, Zion had to be four years of healthiness to be on his team.”

As for Jaylen Brown, Arenas joked by stating “They gonna have a conversation with him but it ain’t going to be a conversation for him to play on his team.” Brown was quite clear in his belief over why he was snubbed from the 2024 roster. However, the former Warriors star believes that Brown’s reasoning may open the door for Bronny James to get in, despite his abysmal stats. “I got one” said Arenas when naming his next pick and laughing in a contagious manner. “Y’all gonna be mad. Cause you all know who’s ‘Mr Nike.’ Bronny.”

Jaylen Brown was not amongst the players who were selected in the main Team USA roster, announced back in April. Later, after Kawhi Leonard was removed from the lineup due to his old injury, the 2024 Finals MVP was snubbed yet again when his teammate Derrick White was chosen as the replacement. This caused the player to put out the theory that Nike allegedly played a role in his snub since he had been quite open about his criticism of the billion-dollar brand.

According to reports, several NBA fans sided with the Celtics star, causing some to also ask whether Kyrie Irving, who was earlier dismissed by Nike over his reported role in spreading antisemitic content, was also not asked to be a part of the 2024 Olympics roster due to Nike’s influence. Therefore, Arenas jokingly claimed that if Nike does hold an influence in the selection, then Bronny James can certainly get in.

Bronny signed a deal with Nike back in 2022, further allowing him to become one of the initial college athletes of the NIL era to introduce a jersey. LeBron James himself may have played a major role in securing the deal since the NBA All-Time scorer has held a beneficial partnership with the brand over 21 years now.

As for LeBron James himself, the ‘Gil’s Arena’ crew emphasized that he and Stephen Curry may not be suiting up for 2028. After all, they will be 43 and 40 years old respectively by the time the next Olympics come around. Furthermore, the duo may not even be a part of the NBA by then. While the crew did not choose to include LeBron due to the age factor, one member of it believes that the same factor, along with other reasons, should have excluded him from his first Olympic run as well.

Kenyon Martin wished that LeBron James hadn’t played in the 2004 Athens Olympics

During the discussion, ‘Gil’s Arena’ co-host Kenyon Martin went on to state that LeBron James, should not have been a part of the Team USA roster that participated in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He wasn’t the only one on Martin’s list as the former NBA player also named Carmelo Anthony, Emeka Okafor, and Amar’e Stoudemire. The four players held the common trait that none of them were above the age of 21, with LeBron being the youngest at 19. This caused Kenyon Martin to question why the same roster from the 2003 Tournament of the Americas (FIBA AmeriCup) wasn’t utilized.

“I just keep going back to it. If you look at the 2003 Team that we took to Puerto Rico, compared to the Olympic team they took in 04….” said the 46-year-old. “That 03 team, there is no…. we washed this, listen, we run through the competition, man. It ain’t even a question.”

The Team USA that participated in the 2003 tournament secured first place, allowing them to secure a berth in the Athens Olympics. However, Allen Iverson ended up being the only player from the AmeriCup roster who was also a part of the 2004 games. This change, and the use of over six players aged 22 or below, may have resulted in Team USA returning home with only a bronze medal. It marked the first time since 1992 that the national team hadn’t secured the gold medal.

Kenyon Martin’s belief was also backed by LeBron James’s poor performance at the 2004 Olympics. After all, in his eight appearances, the young star only averaged 5.4 points, 1 rebound, and 1.6 assists. During the matchup against Angola, in which he played over 27 minutes, he was only able to make 11 points.

Fortunately, LeBron James would go on to redeem himself in all the future Olympic tournaments. While it was just a joke from Gilbert Arenas, four years may also be enough time for Bronny James to reach the standards of an efficient NBA player, allowing him to play for Team USA.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.