WASHINGTON — Two St. Louis natives and Chaminade grads were named finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team Monday.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Boston Celtics wing Jayson Tatum were named to the 44-player list of finalists. The official 12-member roster will be chosen from this group and announced later this year.
Beal was previously selected to USA Basketball Men’s National Team training camp in summer 2019 and has appeared in 19 games for Team USA. He was also named a member of the 2014-16 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Pool and participated in the 2014 and 2015 USA Basketball showcases.
Tatum was a member of the 2019 World Cup team that lost back-to-back games to France and Serbia and finished seventh in the tournament. He has 29 career games with Team USA.
Beal is currently averaging career highs in points (29.1), assists (6.3), free-throw attempts (8.0) and free-throw percentage (.843), and passed teammate John Wall for third on the franchise’s all-time scoring list on Feb. 3.
He’s had seven 40-plus point games this season. His 29.1 points per game also ranks fifth in the NBA.
On Jan. 30, Tatum was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career. He's averaging career highs in points per game(22.2), rebounds(6.9) and assists(2.9) in his third season as a pro.
He was one of five Celtics named finalists.
The Olympics are being hosted in Tokyo later this year. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 24.
