This week may not represent your last chance to watch LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and other NBA stars play Olympic basketball after all. The NBA continues to push for an age limit for men's basketball at the Olympics, but according to Ian Thomsen of SI.com, such a rule is unlikely to be instituted in time for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
Commissioner David Stern and the NBA have hoped to create a new World Cup of Basketball that features the game's biggest stars, while modifying Olympic play to include only 23-and-under players. That plan is still in the works and could be in place by the 2020 games, but according to Thomsen, it's "highly unrealistic" that FIBA will move quickly to introduce an age limit by 2016. Thomsen points out that the involvement of the International Olympic Committee would complicate talks, and that the new rule would "require the ratification of 213 national basketball federations around the world."
Whether or not NBA stars are still playing for Team USA in Brazil in 2016, managing director Jerry Colangelo hopes to oversee the U.S. basketball program through those Olympics. Asked by SI.com if he planned to continue representing Team USA for another four years, Colangelo replied, "Yes, I think so."