CHICAGO — MVP Kobe Bryant has a shot at another big prize after falling short of the NBA championship, and he'll have plenty of help along the way.

LeBron James is there. Dwyane Wade, too.

They will lead a U.S. Olympic basketball team that was announced yesterday and hopes to capture the gold medal in Beijing in August after a third-place showing in Athens four years ago.

Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd were also among the 12 players chosen from a pool of 33. They were joined by the Detroit Pistons' Tayshaun Prince, along with Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Deron Williams.

"It was a very difficult selection process," USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo. "When you have as many outstanding players as we have in this country — to select a group of 12 is obviously going to leave out a number of outstanding people."

The team was selected without a tryout. It will have a minicamp this week in Las Vegas and meet there July 20 to 25 to train and play an exhibition against Canada before heading overseas. The Americans open Olympic play against China on Aug. 10.

The Americans last captured the gold at the Sydney Games in 2000.

"It's really the world's game. We think we're the best at playing that game," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, warning that "unless we show the respect to the rest of the world that it is the world's game" there will be no gold medal.