A Switch for Mitch? Knicks Big Man 'Under the Radar' Name For 2024 USA Olympic Team
Here's to USA, Mr. Robinson.
The United States' men's national basketball is preparing to pick up the pieces after a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Asia, which wrapped up on Sunday. Team USA, which featured current New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, has clinched a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by virtue of standing as one of the top two finishers among the Americas.
But some are wary about what the future holds after the World Cup: by falling to Canada in the third-place game on Sunday in Manila, Team USA failed to earn a podium finish for the second consecutive competition, a first in an otherwise illustrious program history.
In the aftermath, observers have taken to dream casting. A report from Shams Charania even suggested that LeBron James could be assembling a group to make a bid for the US roster in time for the Paris Games.
ESPN's Tim McMahon, however, went a different route, raising Knicks center Mitchell Robinson as an "under-the-radar" candidate for roster inclusion on a recent appearance on Zach Lowe's "Lowe Post" podcast.
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"I'm thinking, obviously, rim-protection (and) rebounding," McMahon says. Lowe is intrigued by the selection, claiming that Robinson "wouldn't necessarily make (his) cut" but isn't "a bad name." (H/t New York Basketball on X).
Robinson, 25, is set to enter his sixth season with the Knicks and is expected to reprise his role as the team's primary center. Last season saw him bring in a career-best 9.4 rebounds a game en route to the Knicks' most lucrative season in a decade. Robinson previously tried out for Team USA's Under-19 team for the 2017 amateur World Cup but did not make the final squad.
If Robinson were to get the call from Team USA's senior group, there's no doubt that they would be intrigued by his defensive abilities. Though he publicly expressed desires to get more involved in the Knicks' offense, Robinson has developed a strong reputation as a formidable paint defender, averaging two blocks a game over his first five seasons in New York.
Though Hart emerged as a breakout rebounding star for the Americans, failing to cover the interior led to the end of their championship dream in Manila: in its narrow semifinal loss to eventual champion Germany, Team USA lost a 12-7 battle on the offensive glass and was outscored 25-8 in second chances.
Robinson's focus will center on the Knicks this fall, as he prepares to enter the second season of a four-year, $60 deal offered to him last summer. His possible attempts to impress Team USA brass, however, should emerge as one of the more intriguing subplots of this season.
