DeRozan, Lowry selected for USA Men’s Basketball National Team Pool

It should come as no surprise that DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry—the Toronto Raptors backcourt teammates with eight NBA All-Star appearances between them, and who helped Team USA win Gold in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil—were among the 35 players selected today for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team pool for the 2018-2020 roster.

The pool includes 29 previous pool selections and 17 former gold medalists, including LeBron James, James Harden, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Among the six first-time selections are Myles Turner, Devin Booker, and C.J. McCollum.

Barring any significant unseen events such as a long-term injury, the final 12-man rosters for the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics will be selected from this group.

Gold Medalists with Team USA in 2016

DeRozan and Lowry averaged 6.6 and 5.0 points, respectively, on the 2016 team. Neither started a game but were both key contributors, with Lowry in particular being singled out by assistant coach Jim Boeheim as the best team player on the roster.

DeRozan also represented Team USA in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, helping the Americans win Gold there as well.

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo announced the roster pool on Friday morning. Although there is no competition scheduled for this year, Colangelo stressed that selecting the team and holding a mini-camp this summer will help prepare Team USA for the events in 2019 and 2020.

Congrats to Kyle and DeMar for their selections! You can read the full announcement, including all the selections, right here.