LeBron will be there. Team LeBron, actually. Heck, one of the media outlets covering the NBA playoffs was LeBronJames.com.

D-Wade will be there, and he’ll be stylin’, no doubt. Brand Wade with the slick fedora.

Team Hinrich? Brand Kirk?

“My clothes?” Kirk Hinrich stifled a laugh.

The Bulls guard, who recently was added to the USA Basketball national team that will compete in the world championships next month in Japan, is “probably the worst-dressed guy in the league,” he said.

A Hinrich outfit?

“Probably jeans, a T-shirt, gym shoes and a baseball cap,” the former Kansas University standout said with a laugh.

Maybe Hinrich doesn’t become a national endorser or a Q-rating king by being part of the U.S. effort to reclaim its international basketball prestige. But when USA Basketball opened its training camp Wednesday in Las Vegas for what it’s calling its first national team, Hinrich became a key figure in the U.S. strategy to strike gold in the 2008 Olympics.

“He’s one of the really fine players in the NBA,” USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Kirk can really play defense. He’s one of the better defenders in the league on and off the ball. Secondly, he can knock down a long shot. Third, he’s a guy other guys really like to play with.

“He’s the kind of player who if he took two shots in a game he’s fine, or if he needs to take 10 or 12 shots. He just wants to win.”

This is not to say the United States is going to win a gold medal this summer or in 2008 just because Hinrich is playing for the U.S. team, though team director Jerry Colangelo, in discussing the makeup of the team after the disappointing 2004 Olympics, said Hinrich was among those most strongly recommended for the three-year commitment.

The 2004 Olympic team was 5-3 and won a bronze medal. The problem: There weren’t enough egos left at the door and there wasn’t enough sweat left on the floor.

The U.S. team was second in scoring at 88.1 points per game, but ninth in points allowed at 83.5. The great U.S. athletes were 10th in field-goal defense, allowing 48.1 percent shooting, and 12th in three-point defense at 44.1 percent. Meanwhile, those same great talents were 10th in three-point shooting (31.4 percent) and seventh in overall shooting.

That’s why a player like Hinrich was so important to the current team. He defends, he can make a three-pointer, he runs a team and he shares the ball. And, getting ready for international referees, he’s accustomed to not getting foul calls.

It’s one reason Colangelo went back to Hinrich after Hinrich initially declined to participate, though Hinrich is not yet guaranteed a place among the final 12 for this summer.