There is a ton of anticipation surrounding the U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They have a decorated roster with talent ranging from Basketball Hall of Famers like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, to potential faces of the league such as Anthony Edwards. As a whole, this year’s roster consists of four MVP winners and seven champions. In contrast, the previous two teams had Kevin Durant as the only MVP winner and just two more NBA champions combined than this year’s team.
The makeup of Team USA from a skills perspective is highly balanced with players who can succeed in different ways. Offensively, they have guys who could score without needing the ball, along with other players who are willing to guard the opposing team’s best player. “We have the ability to play different styles,” Hall of Famer and USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill said recently in an interview with Andscape. “We have flexibility. We can go big, we can go small. We have shooting and we have experience.” One guy who checks all of those boxes is, of course, LeBron James. After winning his second gold medal in 2012, James has built a Hall of Fame career in the last 12 years alone. He may not be athletic like he was, but he returns as a more polished player with a valid case to be proclaimed the greatest of all time. Joining James are Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, who are seen as the next two best players of their generation after James. Durant is accustomed to Olympic play having won the last three gold medals, while Curry is probably the best point USA has had since Chris Paul in the 2012 Olympics. Defensively, they have two elite rim protectors in Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis. Both of them share a combined eight all defensive selections. Even Team USA’s best role players are Jayson Tatum, who is fresh off a championship, and Devin Booker who is one of the league’s top scorers. As a whole, there are a lot of players who specialize in all different areas which makes it easier for everyone to seamlessly compliment one another. It will require some players to sacrifice some of their skills. Davis and Jrue Holiday might be in the game only for their defense, while Booker might be better suited for a role off the bench. If they’re willing to make these sacrifices, Team USA’s path to gold will be the equivalent of a walk in Luxembourg Gardens. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges however. While Team USA boosts the best squad on paper, Olympic basketball is more of a contrast from the NBA game. While an NBA court is 94 by 50 ft, Federal International Basketball Association (FIBA) courts are about 91 by 49 ft. There are also different rules such as players being allowed to touch the ball after it hits the rim, and jump balls getting determined based on who was last awarded possession. Not only are team USA’s opponents more equipped with these regulations, but they also have more experience playing together. Most of these players spend their offseason playing with their countries and are used to playing with each other. Team USA might feature some players who played for the same team during the regular season, but not everyone has played together before. "They have to get acclimated for FIBA and to this style, and that’s what the preparation is all about is trying to get them to understand what wins and loses a FIBA game,” Head Coach Steve Kerr said recently. The teams as a whole have also improved going into these Olympics. Plenty of talented players like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be representing their countries. France, who narrowly lost out on gold to USA in 2021, will receive a massive upgrade with the newest NBA phenom and Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama making his Olympic debut. Canada has also emerged as a threat with a talented backcourt of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray among other solid NBA players. Germany is bringing back the same team that beat USA Basketball in the World Cup, and nearly won the rematch in the exhibition games. Even with the competition, there are plenty of reasons that team USA will win gold for the fifth straight Olympics. Not only is this one of their most talented rosters, but most of the players they will be counting on have already played in the Olympics at least once. With the competition improving, having experienced players such as James will be a huge factor. In their last two exhibition games against South Sudan and Germany, James’ last minute heroics were the difference. There is also a desire among the players and coaches to keep USA Basketball on top. Even if the players might not admit it, there’s no other reason why James would be returning to the Olympics while also recruiting guys like Curry and Davis. They are eager to show they can help the USA maintain their superiority in basketball at a time where other countries are looking to prove themselves. “We have competitors,” Hill said. “Part of why they want to do this is they want that challenge and they want to show that we could be the best.” |
Date Published
October 2024
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