Utah Jazz: Boozer, Williams get Olympic nod

Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams are Beijing-bound, with the Utah Jazz tandem were among the 12 players announced as the team to represent the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Joining the Jazz duo on the 2008 USA Basketball Senior National Team are Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons, Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat.

The Jazz is the only NBA team with multiple Olympic team members.

The 12 were selected from the 33-member U.S. Select roster, consisting of the top NBA talent and compiled by USA Basketball over the past several years in preparation for the '08 Olympics.

The team will be coached by Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has lead U.S. teams the past two summers in international competition — the 2006 World Championships and the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, with the United States winning the latter and qualifying for the Beijing Games.

Krzyzewski was joined by Jerry Colangelo, the senior men's program managing director, for a series of news conferences and teleconferences Monday in announcing the team.

"The 12 players selected have incredible talent, and more importantly, we think this team has excellent leadership; great versatility and balance; and very good chemistry which are critical parts in building a great team. I believe this team is a team all Americans can and will be proud of," Colangelo said.

For Boozer, it is a second straight Olympic appearance — he played as a reserve on the '04 U.S. team that claimed the bronze medal. However, he missed participating the past two summers — the first because of injury, the latter because of family medical matters.

Williams will be making his Olympics debut. However, he was a member of the '07 team that won the FIBA Americas title.

At age 35, Kidd is the senior member of the U.S. Team, having helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He is 44-0 in senior-level international play.

Other repeat Olympians are Boozer and the threesome of Anthony, James and Wade from the '04 games. They look to join the 13 multiple-time U.S. Basketball Olympians, which include the Jazz's own Dream Team twosome of John Stockton and Karl Malone, who teamed up at the '92 and '96 Games.

First up for the U.S. Team, a June 28 mini-training camp at UNLV's Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. The team will return to Las Vegas for training in late July and a July 25 exhibition against the Canadian national team.

Prior to the Beijing Games, which run Aug. 8-24, the U.S. Olympic team will play a series of exhibitions in Macau and Shanghai, including a Aug. 3 game against Russia, which features the Jazz's Andrei Kirilenko.

Kirilenko will be making his second Olympics appearance this summer, having played in 2000 in Sydney as a teenage Jazz draftee.

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