Stephen Curry could be in line to compete for the US men's basketball team at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) most valuable player Stephen Curry is expected to volunteer his services for the United States' men's basketball team at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The news, reported by the New York Times, comes hot on the heels of the team finishing seventh at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup in China, where action concluded today.

It is their worst-ever placing in tournament play when NBA players were involved and comes after back-to-back titles.

Curry has never participated in the Olympics at 31 years of age, and Tokyo 2020 is likely to provide his last opportunity to do so.

The only time the point guard, a three-time NBA champion, has been involved in tournament play was during the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Earlier this week, Curry's Golden State Warriors team-mate Draymond Green stated his intention to make himself available for Tokyo 2020.

Green was a member of the US squad that struck gold at Rio 2016 to make it three consecutive Olympic triumphs.

"I do hope to play and I think a lot of the guys will want to play," Green told CNBC.

"The (FIBA World Cup) schedule this year was a little treacherous with the (NBA) games that were in America, and also to travel to Australia, which is why I think a lot of guys dropped out.

"I think you'll see a lot of guys participate next year in the Olympics and I hope to be one of those 12 guys."

The United States finished seventh at the FIBA World Cup in China ©Getty Images
The United States finished seventh at the FIBA World Cup in China ©Getty Images

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo identified player turn-out as a reason for the US's disappointing performance in China and is bearing it in mind in the build-up to Tokyo 2020. 

"We've had a lot of indications about guys who want to play next summer," he said.

"But we had a lot of indications that many wanted to play this summer."

Kobe Bryant, one of basketball's superstars, recently claimed the rest of the world has caught up with the US. 

Bryant was speaking in Beijing on the eve of the FIBA World Cup final, which was held today between Spain and Argentina.

The 41-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers legend, who won Olympic gold with the US at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics, expressed no surprise at the failure of the US team to defend its title.

"It's not a matter of the rest of the world catching up to the USA," said Bryant, a global ambassador for the flagship FIBA event.

"It's a matter of the rest of the world having been caught up for quite some time.

"It's come to the point where we, as the USA, are going to win some, we're going to lose some.

"And that's just how it goes."