NBA players set to lead Brazil's Olympic team

SAO PAULO (AP) Brazil's men's basketball team will be led by NBA players Nene, Leandro Barbosa, Tiago Splitter and Anderson Varejao when it returns to the Olympics for the first time in 16 years.

The four players were included in the list of 15 by coach Ruben Magnano on Thursday. Also included was point guard Larry Taylor, who recently earned Brazilian citizenship.

Only 12 players will make it to London. But Taylor and the NBA players will likely be on the team because Magnano's list included two players who are there only to gain experience in practice and one other who has a knee injury and is not expected to recover in time.

Brazil's men last competed in the Olympics in 1996, reaching the quarterfinals in Atlanta.

Updated May 17, 2012