The 2028 Olympics will come to a close two years from this week. And one of the final events of that international competition will be the men's five-on-five basketball gold medal game.
Team USA should be a participant. Not only have the Americans won five consecutive gold medals -- and eight of nine since NBA players joined the Olympic field -- but they'll also have home-court advantage at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But 2028 might not be smooth sailing for the men's basketball hosts. Four of the past five gold medal wins have been close (two against Spain, two against France), and the program is in a time of transition after veterans LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant led the way in Paris in 2024.
Earlier this year, we took an early look at the candidates to make the 2028 roster and made an early prediction of the players who will receive those 12 coveted spots.
But basketball is a game of change, so it's important to conduct regular check-ins over the next two years before the next Olympic roster is announced. Let's take a look at a handful of players whose Olympic stock has risen and another handful whose stock has fallen since that piece ran in February, based on player performance over the second half of the 2025-26 season and postseason.
Jump to a section: Stock Up | Stock Down
Stock Rising
G Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Brunson wasn't one of the final 12 players I projected on my initial sketch of the 2028 Olympic roster. But it's hard to deny the Finals MVP that forecasted spot now.
He has won at every level -- a state championship in high school, two national championships in college and now a championship in the NBA. All he's missing is a gold medal on the international stage.
Brunson's patience, poise and composure make him one of the best clutch scorers in the NBA, so he could assume some of the late-game responsibility that James, Curry and Durant held in 2024. And with France looming as the greatest threat to the Americans' gold medal chances -- the French have won the past two Olympic silver medals -- it's a point in Brunson's favor that he knows how to score over and around Victor Wembanyama.
He also has showed a desire to play for his country before: Brunson changed his wedding date to play for Team USA at the 2023 World Cup.