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Team USA's inclusion of white power forward Kevin Love on the Olympic roster is an example of 'tokenism,' according to retired NBA star Jalen Rose, who says black Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton would make a better choice even though he's really from the Bahamas.
'Kevin Love is on the team because of tokenism,' Rose, now an ESPN commentator, said on his podcast. 'Don't be scared to make an all-black team representing the United States of America. I'm disappointed by that. Anybody that watched the league this year knows Kevin Love did not have a stellar season, was not the best player on his team and did not necessarily deserve to be on this squad.'
Love and 11 African-American NBA players will be vying for the country's fourth-consecutive gold medal in men's basketball at the Tokyo Games next month. Several top names have opted out of the tournament, such as LeBron James and James Harden, but the roster still includes a few former Olympians, including Love.
The 32-year-old Love did struggle with nagging injuries for the 22-50 Cleveland Cavaliers this season. What's worse, he scored just 12.2 points per game, his lowest mark since his rookie year, while averaging a career-low 7.4 rebounds a night.
As far Rose's belief that Team USA
