Team USA (l to r): Coach Krzyzewski; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Tayshaun Prince; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Kobe Bryant; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul

Ramping up to tomorrow’s epic opening of the OLYMPIC GAMES in Beijing, and the impending roundball battle we’ve all been waiting for, we’re happy to report that in a very unexpected move, one of our favorite young photographers, TARYN SIMON has been commissioned to shoot an official portrait of the US men’s basketball team for the occasion. Chosen by NIKE to capture an artistic view of the 12-man team made up of Kobe Bryant, Tayshaun Prince; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, the stark photo represents the artist’s first foray into sports photography. A 33-year-old Guggenheim Fellow who has exhibited her photography in an array of prestigious international galleries and museums, including Gagosian Gallery and the Whitney Museum, Simon is renowned for her obsession with revealing hidden and inaccessible American stories in her work, most notably the highly acclaimed portrait series “The Innocents,” that documented cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and her recent body of work, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.” See more of Simon’s photography after the jump. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »