NBA MVP Kobe Bryant will play in his first Olympic Games for the USA in Beijing

Bryant's selection will give the Los Angeles Lakers star a chance for Olympic gold to help ease the disappointment of losing the NBA finals to the Boston Celtics this month.

Bryant, a two-time NBA scoring champion, will be competing in his first Olympics after playing a key role in the USA's FIBA Americas Championship team that finished with a 10-0 win/loss record, winning the gold medal and automatic qualification for the 2008 Games.

James, reigning NBA scoring champion, and Bryant, will be joined by Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, Utah's Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, Toronto's Chris Bosh, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Chris Paul of New Orleans, Tayshaun Prince of Detroit, Michael Redd of Milwaukee and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks.

Kidd, 35, was a member of the US Olympic team in 2000 that won all their matches at the Sydney Games to capture the gold medal.

Anthony, Boozer, James and Wade were on the 2004 Olympic team that finished third in Athens - the first time a US team failed to triumph since NBA players began competing in the Olympics in 1992.

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University coach, has been given the task of guiding the USA back to the top of the podium, said his team was packed with talent, but warned that the gap between US professionals and their international counterparts had narrowed.

Extremely talented

"Our team has excellent athleticism and great versatility. We have players who are experienced in the international game thanks to the last two summers' training and competitions," Krzyzewski said.

"As we have learned, the international teams we will face in Beijing are also extremely talented and they play very well as a team.

"This summer's Olympics are going to be an unbelievable competition."

The 12 players will take part in a mini-training camp in Las Vegas on June 28, and will train there from July 21 to 24, with a warm-up game against Canada on July 25.

They will play two more warm-up games in Macao and two in Shanghai before the Games begin.

Notable omissions from the squad include Celtics forward Paul Pierce, Atlanta Hawks swingman Joe Johnson and Seattle SuperSonics forward Kevin Durant who were members of the 33-man senior national team.

Krzyzewski said that he and Jerry Colangelo, Team USA managing director, had a difficult time completing the Olympic roster.

"The selections were very difficult and something we've been working toward since we initially got the senior national team together in the 2006 summer," Krzyzewski said.

"Unfortunately we are limited to a roster of 12 players and we had incredible commitment for the 33 players in our senior team program."

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