Gator Great Bradley Beal Makes Final USA Basketball Olympic Roster

The Florida Gators will be represented in the Summer Olympics with Gator Great basketball player Bradley Beal making the final roster.

Former Florida Gators basketball legend and Gator Great Bradley Beal will be playing in the Summer Olympics in Japan this year after making the team's final roster.

The final roster was announced earlier this week and will mark the first-ever Gator to compete in men's basketball at the Olympics. Beal played for Florida in 2011-12 and was a first-team All-SEC performer. He would be selected by the Washington Wizards.

The roster will include just 12 NBA players from the USA, including Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Beal, Devin Booker (Pheonix Suns), Kevin Durant (New York Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holliday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach Lavine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).

The 2021 Summer Olympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan. The last time the USA played on an international stage would come in 2019 during the FIBA World Cup, the team placed seventh.   The Summer Olympics is set to begin on Friday, July 23. this summer and will end on Aug. 8.

During his career with the Wizards, Beal has been an NBA All-Star three times and recently earned third-team All-NBA honors. This year, Beal averaged 31.3 points per game and led the Wizards to a playoff bid.

"While Beal will be the first men’s basketball Olympian from the Gators, he will not be the first former UF men’s basketball player to compete in the Olympics," Florida stated on a release on Wednesday.

"Harry Winkler, who played at Florida from 1965-68, competed in team handball at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympics."