Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett have been invited to play for the United States Olympic basketball team.

　　The selections were made on Tuesday during a meeting of the USA Basketball senior national team selection committee, two sources close to the committee said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

　　"I don't know yet," O'Neal said. "They are asking me. I haven't decided yet. I have to decide."

　　One more spot remains open on the 12-man roster, and a second could open up if Kobe Bryant is unable to play because of his sexual assault trial in Colorado.

　　Selection committee chairman Stu Jackson acknowledged that two invitations had been issued, though he would not specify who had been chosen.

　　"We'll wait and see if these two guys accept the invitations. Hopefully we'll know in a two-week time period, then we can decide about the rest of the team," Jackson said.

　　Jackson also confirmed that Cleveland Cavaliers rookie LeBron James is among a group of seven or eight players being discussed by the committee for the final roster.

　　"LeBron has been one of the many players we've considered as a possibility to add to this team outright, or in the case of injury, but there have been many players and many contingencies discussed," Jackson said.

　　Nine roster spots have already been filled on the team that will be coached by Larry Brown. The players are Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Karl Malone and Tim Duncan.

　　The team opens training camp July 26 and plays its first game of the Athens Olympics on August 15.

　　If O'Neal accepts and Bryant is able to play, the Los Angeles Lakers would have three players on the team.

　　"For Karl, he's a bionic man. He can stay in shape," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "For Shaq, it might not be the best idea. It's an honor for a ballclub. I can't remember three guys from one team playing."

　　Last month, O'Neal said he was undecided about making a seven-week commitment to the US team. "I think it is very, very burdensome. It depends how far we (the Lakers) go in the season," O'Neal said. "I have to consult with my family and consult with my friends. I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

　　O'Neal was a member of the US team that won the gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

　　(The Associated Press)