Kawhi Leonard's selection to U.S. Olympic basketball team 'a no-brainer'; so why the wait?

NEW YORK — Kawhi Leonard was named to the U.S. Olympic basketball team Wednesday, joining 11 teammates whose names leaked out earlier in the week.

But Grant Hill, USA Basketball's managing director, wants to make one thing clear: The Clippers forward and San Diego State alum did not dramatically get the final spot on the roster heading to France this summer.

Here's what happened:

Hill said the 12-man roster culled from a 41-player pool was finalized three weeks ago and unanimously approved by USA Basketball's board. The plan was to unveil it during the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's media summit in New York, which coincided with 100 days out from opening ceremony at Paris.

They also had the idea, Hill said, "to create a moment for every player … surprise them, welcome them to the team, give them their jersey, make it very formal but do it very quiet, under the radar — which is almost impossible in today's NBA. It was ambitious and slightly delusional."

So Hill began flying around the country for the private jersey presentations, while the Olympic coaches did it with players on their NBA teams. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, an assistant on Steve Kerr's Olympic staff, planned to present a blue No. 8 jersey to Leonard on Tuesday. The Clippers were off Monday.

By then, the rest of the roster had leaked out. Speculation began to swirl about who would get the "final spot." Leonard was mentioned. So was Clippers teammate Paul George and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.

Leonard, though, was on the team all along.

"(Media) put out that we only picked 11," Hill said. "We had picked 12. They just didn't know who that 12th person was. It made it seem like he was an afterthought, that he was last, but that was not the case. We talked to his agent. They were good about it. They understood.

"He's been on board all the way."

Leonard and Philadelphia center Joel Embiid are the only two members of the roster without previous international experience. Leonard has expressed interest in playing at an Olympics going back a decade, but the birth of his first child (2016) and a knee injury (2021) derailed those plans.

He's 32 now and appeared in 68 games this season, his most since 2016-17 (although he missed the final eight of the regular season with inflammation in his knee and is iffy for Game 1 of their playoff series against Dallas). This might be his last chance.

"Although Kawhi has not played in FIBA (international tournaments), he's played in big games, he's had in big moments, he's won championships," Hill said. "That kind of experience is valuable. And then he's physical, he has a strength about him, he can defend, he's played with other great players so he can co-exist with others. He just wants to play and wants to win.

"I don't want to say he's a no-brainer, but he's a no-brainer."

It makes for a busy summer for Leonard — especially if the Clippers make a deep playoff run into June.

The team begins training camp on July 6 in Las Vegas and has its first exhibition game four days later there against Canada. Then it's off to Abu Dhabi for two games and London for two more before opening the 12-team Olympic tournament on July 28 against Serbia in Lille, France — the city 130 miles north of Paris that is hosting the early rounds.

The rest of the roster: Embiid, Bam Adebayo (Miami), Devin Booker (Phoenix), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Phoenix), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana), Jrue Holiday (Boston), LeBron James (Lakers) and Jayson Tatum (Boston).

"It's not always the best players, per se, but the best fit," Hill told journalists Wednesday in New York. "There's a difference between the FIBA game and the NBA game. A lot of thought went into that.

"It's blending personalities together. It's like a puzzle, and you're trying to put the puzzle together. It's an interesting and, certainly at times, exhausting exercise but a very fulfilling one nonetheless. It's more than: 'OK, he's the best, he's the best, let's do it.'"