LEXINGTON, Ky. — There were nine former Kentucky Wildcats basketball players, men’s and women’s combined, competing in the Paris Olympics.

As impressive as that is, it is not farfetched to think there could be even more ex-Wildcats hooping it up in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The roll call of former Kentucky players who played men’s hoops in Paris starts with Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis, who were all part of the gold medal-winning Team USA.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trey Lyles and Jamal Murray led a Canadian roster that was expected to medal but did not.

Wenyen Gabriel contributed to the feel-good story that was South Sudan’s Olympics basketball experience.

On the women’s side, ex-UK forward Adebola Adeyeye was a late addition to the Nigeria team that became the first squad from Africa ever to make the Olympics quarterfinals.

Finally, former Kentucky star Rhyne Howard earned a bronze medal as a part of Team USA’s 3-on-3 team.

Looking forward four years, there is a more-than-realistic chance that there will be more than nine Big Blue ballers performing in the Olympics when the Games return to La La Land.

If they are healthy and want to play, it seems likely that Adebayo, presently 27, Booker, 27, and Davis, 31, will all be invited to return to Team USA’s roster in 2028.

For Davis, injuries could be an issue, given his track record and the fact he will be 35 at the time of the next Olympics.

In an ESPN+ projection of what Team USA might look like in four seasons, writer Kevin Pelton added a fourth ex-Cat — Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey — along with the incumbent trio.

One of the NBA’s rising backcourt stars, Maxey, currently 23, should be near his physical prime in four seasons.

Although the competition for guard slots on the 2028 Team USA roster will be fierce, Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, now 26, would seem to have some chance to play his way onto the national team.

Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, 28, would be a strong candidate for Team USA in 2028 — except that Towns, whose mother was from the Dominican Republic, has long chosen to play internationally for the D.R.

Incoming NBA rookie Reed Sheppard, 20, was, arguably, the best player in the 2024 NBA Summer League. It is far too early, of course, to speculate on the unproven Sheppard as an Olympics candidate.

However, if he proves himself capable of excelling as a pro, Sheppard’s dead-eye outside shooting and willingness to share the basketball would make him ideal for a future Team USA.

If healthy, Gilgeous-Alexander, 26; Lyles, 28; and Murray, 27, would all seem likely to again be on the Canadian Olympics roster in four seasons. They could be joined by Portland Trail Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe, 21.

Sharpe, you will recall, attended UK but never played in a game for the Wildcats. So you cannot classify Sharpe as a “former Kentucky player.” He could qualify as an “ex-Cat” in the expansive sense that any student who attends the University of Kentucky is a Wildcat.

Gabriel will be 31 in four years, but would figure to have a place on the South Sudan roster if that country can again qualify for the Olympic Games.

On the women’s side, Howard, the 24-year-old Atlanta Dream star, could potentially face stiff competition for a spot on the 2028 Team USA 5-on-5 roster from younger perimeter phenoms such as Caitlin Clark, 22; JuJu Watkins, 19; Paige Bueckers, 22; and Hannah Hidalgo, 19.

Nevertheless, assuming good health, Howard should be well-positioned to go from the Team USA 3-on-3 to the 5-on-5 roster at the next Olympics.

It is obvious from the roster choices made for the 2024 American women’s basketball team for the Olympics that the USA Basketball hierarchy values players who have been loyal to the national team and its feeders.

In a basketball context, few have been more true to the red, white and blue than has Howard. Even before playing 3-on-3 at the 2024 Olympics, she had played for the United States in international competition in 2018 (under-18); 2019 (u-19); and 2021 (FIBA AmeriCup).

Adeyeye, 24, scored two points total for Nigeria in the Olympics.

In her one season (2022-23) at Kentucky after arriving from Buffalo as a graduate transfer, Adeyeye was a capable rebounder (5 rpg) and an “energy player.” It’s hard to gauge if those traits will be enough to keep Adeyeye on the Nigerian National Team over the long term.

A product of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, current Kentucky point guard Georgia Amoore, 23, played with the Australian National Team this summer during some of the preliminary contests that led up to the Olympics. She would seem a strong bet to join the Opals in L.A. for the Olympics in four years.

Perhaps the most intriguing long-term Olympics prospect with ties to Kentucky women’s basketball is the 6-foot-7 incoming freshman, Clara Silva.

In the just-concluded women’s under-18 FIBA EuroBasket tournament, the Portuguese center averaged 18.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2 blocks a game while leading her team to a fifth-place finish.

Portugal has never qualified for an Olympics women’s basketball tournament. However, if the country can put the right talent mix around Silva, the 18-year-old center has the promise of becoming the cornerstone of a team that can finally break through.

As for 2028, expecting Silva to take Portugal to the promised land of international basketball so early in her career seems an ask even taller than she.

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