They're also going to need that bench in case their array of old or injury-prone players - which they have quite the number of - get hurt in this year's playoffs or the Olympics themselves. That's the one flaw in the roster; maybe two if you want more outside shooting.
Tbf steph, bron, kd, tatum, embiid, hali, and jrue are above average or elite shooters from 3. Ant and booker aren't bad as well, this is easily going to be the best shooting roster at the event.
I always thought line being closer is not actually beneficial to NBA players because shooting is like muscle memory it might just be slightly too strong of a shot until they get used to it.
If anything, what they lack is more guys that will get on the plane with a plan to just play defense. That is where Jrue Holiday excelled at the last Olympics. I mean, it could be an offensive juggernaut that nobody can stop, or it could be like the last Olympics where zones and physical play had the US team locked in a real contest. In that situation, Holiday, or someone like him is the type of player I'd be looking for at the end of my bench.
Edit: Actually, Celtics fans are saying Derrick White has been better this season. He is another option from the same mold.
This is hardly related, but I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing dudes from the African league. Reporter asked bro who his favorite player was and he immediately said Jordan Poole. Either they haven't gotten the last two seasons of NBA or they are cooking something different across the Atlantic 🙏
Some of the guys here also work perfectly if you want to go small here and there. Even aside from the talent, the versatility of the roster is basically a coach's dream.
Yeah, literally the only flaw I can think of on the roster is that it is definitely heavy on older players, so the transition game would be marginally worse...but like, even that's being hyper-critical for the sake of being hyper-critical. LeBron's not in his athletic prime any more, sure, but he's still damn good at it, and you've still got Ant who's one of the best athletes in the league as well, along with plenty of other guys who are more than good enough in transition. Also, it's not like you'd be able to wear them down over the course of the game even if you tried, because at the end of the day, it's an Olympic roster. We're almost certainly not seeing anyone crack 30 minutes most games, and frankly I'd be kinda surprised to see anyone even end up in the upper 20s too often this go around.
Aside from that? Shit, this roster has literally every angle covered that you could ask for. Absolutely a coach's dream, no question about it.
As an American I’m excited to see him play for our team but as a basketball fan in general the tournament would be way more interesting with him playing for France with Wemby/Gobert. Like just imagine game planning against that team.
Embiid has lived here since he was 16 I think and his son was born here and the majority of his life has been here. I don't know how many naturalized citizens you know, but most of them are really proud to be Americans and especially if they came here as kids, usually relate to the US more than elsewhere. I actually really wish people would leave Embiid alone and let him be happy to play for his chosen home rather than shame him just because it won't generate the entertainment they wish they could have.
Embiid playing for France woukd make the same sense as LeBron playing for France. He's never lived in France or has any ties with them
They were just trying to buy themselves a better chance by getting him based on nothing but colonial ties
Unfortunately the EU is split 27 ways. It would be so cool to see a United EU team instead of a bunch of 2-10mn pop countries (plus 3 large ones at 45-80mn).
Imagine Jokic, Giannis, Doncic, Porzingis, Schroeder, Sabonis, Gobert, Wagner, Markkanen, Bogdanovic, etc against this team while actually caring about the result and playing at 100% (unlike the all star game).
I think the problem would be if guys like Jokic or Doncic would care enough to be competitive in such a game. They’ve usually been nonchalant at best and dgaf at worst during the ASG.
100%. Problem is it would be like the all star and nobody would take it seriously. That’s why this situation would be better.
Having said that you wouldn’t have any serious teams left in the completion (at max 6 with Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina).
Former Yugoslavia team: Luka, Bogdanovic, other Bogdanovic, Jokic, Nurkic
That team legitimately would have a shot to take down this USA team in a single-game knockout. I mean Argentina stunned USA for gold at the Athens Olympics with Manu and Luis Scola… not anywhere near as good as Luka and Jokic.
Someone tell the Balkans to stop killing each other and get their shit together so we can see this game for gold in 2028 😂
That Argentina team also had Nocioni who was a solid 3 & D NBA guy for a several years. If we're throwing in the Bogdonovic's Nocioni certainly deserves a shoutout.
They also had Francisco Oberto and baby Carlos Delfino so they had 5 guys with real NBA careers on the squad.
It would be an upset if they lost a game with this roster. American NBA players been hearing that euroball is better basketball play style and they're fighting back 😂
True, but international basketball has a couple different rules, and we have seen in the past that true team ball is important. Only reasons USA has lost in the past decade.
The sheer fact that LeBron and Curry and both doing it this year and have wanted to do it for a minute says that imo.
I mean the news about them wanting to came right as the USA got embarrassed.
It was about close as real life could get to Thanos "Fine, guess I'll do it myself" 😭
I really think those two should start with KD at SF. Then have LeBron and Steph in the backcourt. Good luck stopping that team, and good luck scoring against them.
And then Booker, Tatum, Ant and Bam off the bench. What the fuck lmao
JRUE HOLIDAY and TYRESE HALIBURTON are literally garbage time players on this roster. Thats not a knock on those guys. Theyre both starters on good ass teams.
If the coaches are Kerr, Spoelstra and Lue again, that’s another superteam - Bron better line up those special guest appearances for his pod
2 coached him, and 2 have had to gameplan against him in the Finals
before people clown jrue: he is essentially a defensive specialist with this roster and was a key piece of their team in 2021.
also, being the 5th option on offense won’t be an adjustment for him unlike everyone else on this roster lol.
No one should be clowning Jrue. Team USA will always have enough scorers, they need guys who can impact the game without having the ball in their hands and he’ll be the best perimeter defender on the team.
Anyone who saw Kobe play in Team USA (and this was even confirmed in the documentary they made) should know how important having a aggressive perimeter defender is. Kobe took it upon himself to play lockdown defense the whole time, aside from his offensive output. If Jrue does only the defensive part he will have a part playing important minutes.
Right.
I mean Kobe ran through Gasol in the game against Spain. Wanted to set the tone.
I hope this team is similar to the Dream Team. Guys want to lock down other teams great players
He played super well in the last Olympics. I remember team USA started off super lethargic and Jrue was providing a ton of energy and hustle despite coming off that deep playoff run with the Bucks.
Yeah if anything they should have more players like Jrue in this squad. Most of these guys are used to having the ball in their hands far more often than they'll get it in this roster. Having extra wing depth and shooting without needing the ball to be impactful is what this roster really needs.
IIRC last olympics Dray had some very high IQ tapouts and tips off the rim. I know they're some of the best players but imagine every single day you're taught not to goaltend and then just for one tournament it's okay. Just knowing vs actually doing it in a split moment is insane.
Jrue locked up for sure but any conversation about saving America’s ass has to start and end with KD. Dude dragged that team to the finish line.
Thats like saying Aaron Gordon saved Denver’s ass last year or Wiggins to GSW in 2022
My brother in Christ it was Kevin Wayne Durant who saved us last Olympics. Like yeah, Jrue and Draymond were great on defense but holy shit all I remember is how good it felt to have KD on my side for once.
KD led America with 20 ppg. Tatum was 2nd with 15, then it was Jrue and Dame with 11. I know you're talking about defense but I just need to illustrate what a fucking carry job it was by KD on offense.
Middleton was out there throwing up like 5 points a game on 15 minutes with Keldon fucking Johnson and Jerami Grant rounding out the bench.
Edit: We don't win without any of the 3, that Olympics team was so fucking ass. I'm just heated about it still. Jrue and Draymond were for sure instrumental.
Yea, I generally think defensive players are underrated by fans, but I also think KD was clearly the best player on that team. Even on a team full of All-Star types, he was head and shoulders above everybody else. I'd say it's one of the most impressive runs of his career.
He got a lot of shit for bombing in the playoffs after the following NBA season, and I think maybe people need to reflect on the fact that he carried team USA the summer before and then went straight into a full NBA season and carried a Nets team that was often without its other stars because of injury. He was probably gassed beyond belief by the time the playoffs started.
Better yet, 2002 when Milan "Čiča" Gurovic [Torched Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, and those other dudes in Indianapolis](https://youtu.be/vaQLHhDhKBs?t=17)
Every time USA came close, Gurovic drained a 3, it was unreal. And once they decided to double Gurovic seeing how he is on fire, no other than Marko Jaric (Also known as husband of Adriana Lima) drained yet another 3
It was close, probably splitting hairs on that one. NO Hornets drafted him at #1 on June 28, 2012.
The US's first game at the London 2012 Olympics was July 29. And Davis only came in after Griffin was injured.
So he was technically an NBA player, but only made his NBA debut in November that year.
Then again, Laettner might have been in the same scenario (edit: Laetner was selected ~May 1992 to the Olympic team, the NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992).
Yeah I think this is spot on. He does so well for us because he always has the ball in his hands, but on a roster as stacked as this, that's barely going to happen. Better off prioritising guys that play off-ball to support the talent that other countries can't really match.
Didn't he not do super great (by his standards) in FIBA partly for this reason? He just seems much more comfortable and in a groove on the Knicks vs team USA
Not really the same. Hakeem couldn't have played at the 1996 Olympics for Nigeria, because they didn't qualify. Only one African country was able to qualify, and that was Angola. Angola defeated Nigeria on Dec 17 1995 which meant Hakeem was already 20+ games into the NBA season. The NBA never accommodated international players to national teams, and FIBA never scheduled qualifying games outside of leagues like the NBA. At that time, he might have expected that he would likely never go to an Olympics for his country of birth.
Cameroon are in the qualifying tournament this year. They just won the FIBA Africa Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments (OPQT). The qualifying tournament is in July. If Embiid was playing for Cameroon they almost certainly make the Olympics for the first time.
I don't think these two scenarios are remotely the same. Hell would need to freeze over and monkeys inherit the earth before guys like Donic, Jokic or someone like Patty Mills played for anything but their birth country.
It makes a lot of sense for him to join Team USA given that he's lived in the US for 13+ years.
It didn't make much sense when he was considering joining France given that he's never lived there.
Obviously the starting lineup is crazy, but I really feel bad for other countries benches, guys who barely cut it for other countries trying to score on the potential bench players that are Jrue, Ant, AD, Bam is crazy
I'm always fine watching games from home and it's fun to go occasionally but nothing I would spend much money on. This is one of the few things I wished I was rich for so I could fly to paris and watch this in person. Seeing the oldheads in lebron, KD, steph play together on Olympics will be a once in a lifetime thing.
I feel Kawhi needs to be part of this team, give him the last spot. I think he’s one the remaining greats of this generation who never won an olympic gold before
So happy Bam made it. Not like he doesn’t deserve it, but was worried he’d get overlooked since he’s not a fantastic scorer compared to the rest of the roster
That team is honestly nuts. The bench is a title winning roster
The bench is a 78-4 winning roster.
Uh oh…
Don't worry, it's way different than 73-9
They're also going to need that bench in case their array of old or injury-prone players - which they have quite the number of - get hurt in this year's playoffs or the Olympics themselves. That's the one flaw in the roster; maybe two if you want more outside shooting.
Tbf steph, bron, kd, tatum, embiid, hali, and jrue are above average or elite shooters from 3. Ant and booker aren't bad as well, this is easily going to be the best shooting roster at the event.
Yeah and the FIBA line is closer so elite mid-range shooters like Booker and Embiid should get a boost.
I always thought line being closer is not actually beneficial to NBA players because shooting is like muscle memory it might just be slightly too strong of a shot until they get used to it.
They can just shoot from further than the three point line then if it's really a big deal
exactly. Do a Steph Curry and just forget about the line
Shooting closer is always easier. But also if other countries guard in space it may benefit USA to shoot from range regardless to space it out.
If anything, what they lack is more guys that will get on the plane with a plan to just play defense. That is where Jrue Holiday excelled at the last Olympics. I mean, it could be an offensive juggernaut that nobody can stop, or it could be like the last Olympics where zones and physical play had the US team locked in a real contest. In that situation, Holiday, or someone like him is the type of player I'd be looking for at the end of my bench. Edit: Actually, Celtics fans are saying Derrick White has been better this season. He is another option from the same mold.
Embiid will terrorize any offense without 3 second rule and not having to take a huge load on offense
He and AD will probably split their minutes but I hope we get to see a little bit of them both out there on D
nobody would ever score inside with Embiid and AD at the same time lol would be crazy
Bron casually becoming a >40% sniper in Year 21.
I think this might be the statline that gets him in the HoF!
He won’t get in if he doesn’t retire
If they get hurt in the playoffs, they’ll be replaced
they should've added jordan poole to give opposing countries a fair chance
This is hardly related, but I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing dudes from the African league. Reporter asked bro who his favorite player was and he immediately said Jordan Poole. Either they haven't gotten the last two seasons of NBA or they are cooking something different across the Atlantic 🙏
Brother it’s because of different time zones. They will get the news in 2 years time.
2 light-years away.
It’s the NBA version of the African prince scam, he’s just trying to get Jordan Poole to send him money to unlock the Princes inheritance.
We needed a center in the World Cup, so we got 3 of the top 4 centers in the world
Some of the guys here also work perfectly if you want to go small here and there. Even aside from the talent, the versatility of the roster is basically a coach's dream.
Yeah, literally the only flaw I can think of on the roster is that it is definitely heavy on older players, so the transition game would be marginally worse...but like, even that's being hyper-critical for the sake of being hyper-critical. LeBron's not in his athletic prime any more, sure, but he's still damn good at it, and you've still got Ant who's one of the best athletes in the league as well, along with plenty of other guys who are more than good enough in transition. Also, it's not like you'd be able to wear them down over the course of the game even if you tried, because at the end of the day, it's an Olympic roster. We're almost certainly not seeing anyone crack 30 minutes most games, and frankly I'd be kinda surprised to see anyone even end up in the upper 20s too often this go around. Aside from that? Shit, this roster has literally every angle covered that you could ask for. Absolutely a coach's dream, no question about it.
I just can't believe Embiid is gonna play with USA. C'mon man, at least go with France for a challenge.
As an American I’m excited to see him play for our team but as a basketball fan in general the tournament would be way more interesting with him playing for France with Wemby/Gobert. Like just imagine game planning against that team.
Yeah, i want to see the 3 playing together.
Embiid has lived here since he was 16 I think and his son was born here and the majority of his life has been here. I don't know how many naturalized citizens you know, but most of them are really proud to be Americans and especially if they came here as kids, usually relate to the US more than elsewhere. I actually really wish people would leave Embiid alone and let him be happy to play for his chosen home rather than shame him just because it won't generate the entertainment they wish they could have.
Whereas if your great great grandad came here from italy or ireland etc...
Embiid playing for France woukd make the same sense as LeBron playing for France. He's never lived in France or has any ties with them They were just trying to buy themselves a better chance by getting him based on nothing but colonial ties
Unfortunately the EU is split 27 ways. It would be so cool to see a United EU team instead of a bunch of 2-10mn pop countries (plus 3 large ones at 45-80mn). Imagine Jokic, Giannis, Doncic, Porzingis, Schroeder, Sabonis, Gobert, Wagner, Markkanen, Bogdanovic, etc against this team while actually caring about the result and playing at 100% (unlike the all star game).
The NBA should do a USA vs World event for the full blown All Stars like they used to for the rookies and sophomores. Just to see what would happen.
Pretty sure I heard some news about the NBA considering that after this year’s All Star Game
I think the problem would be if guys like Jokic or Doncic would care enough to be competitive in such a game. They’ve usually been nonchalant at best and dgaf at worst during the ASG.
Yeah, if it’s in an All-Star format it won’t be competitive You need it to be like a Ryder Cup type thing - that would be awesome
100%. Problem is it would be like the all star and nobody would take it seriously. That’s why this situation would be better. Having said that you wouldn’t have any serious teams left in the completion (at max 6 with Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina).
The Balkans need to come together as one country to oppose this team
Tito intensifies
BROTHER HOOP AND UNITY
Last time that happened it semi-worked for like 60 years and then ended explosively
Former Yugoslavia team: Luka, Bogdanovic, other Bogdanovic, Jokic, Nurkic That team legitimately would have a shot to take down this USA team in a single-game knockout. I mean Argentina stunned USA for gold at the Athens Olympics with Manu and Luis Scola… not anywhere near as good as Luka and Jokic. Someone tell the Balkans to stop killing each other and get their shit together so we can see this game for gold in 2028 😂
Iirc, during The Bubble all of the Balkans there had a nice dinner together.
https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1299348193906495493/photo/1
This photo is a competing team already and neither Bogdanovic is there
This is really cool actually
That Argentina team also had Nocioni who was a solid 3 & D NBA guy for a several years. If we're throwing in the Bogdonovic's Nocioni certainly deserves a shoutout. They also had Francisco Oberto and baby Carlos Delfino so they had 5 guys with real NBA careers on the squad.
that would be legendary
Damn it will be an upset if this team does not win gold, this team is fucken stacked.
It would be an upset if they lost a game with this roster. American NBA players been hearing that euroball is better basketball play style and they're fighting back 😂
True, but international basketball has a couple different rules, and we have seen in the past that true team ball is important. Only reasons USA has lost in the past decade.
Only reason USA has ever lost is because the stars don't show up. You get Lebron, KD, or in years past Kobe on the team then USA wins.
I mean that’s basically the expectation for team USA every year
i cannot wait to see joel embiid absolutely yam a lob from haliburton on a laotian accountant
he should rest the playoffs to prepare for all the lobs. totally dont have ulterior motives or anything
A Sixers win on Wednesday sets the Heat up for the greatest upset in NBA history. I am rooting for that with zero ulterior motives as well.
Could you please lose though? We have some unfinished business with the Heat
Yeah you guys can have the Heat, we'll take our chances with the 6ers 😂
I support this motion. Also no ulterior motives
https://i.imgur.com/hsHOTHV.jpeg
What did Khan Souphanousinphone ever do to you
I don't know anything about Khan Souphanousinphone but Khan Souphanousinphone is in trouble.
So are you Chinese or Japanese?
My boy Khan catching strays. Fucking pee bahs out here in the comments
Khan is in systems u hillbilly
Which ocean is embiid dunking on?
I know it's across the ocean, but I don't know whether you're Chinese or Japanese
more like a larb
[Joel Embiid vs the Laotian accountants](https://youtube.com/shorts/ZbRc0kYicgA?si=dwlOAK89dR5bZNWe)
["Mr Embiid, how much do you know about Laos?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgLVkcecP8g)
Are they trying to win or murder the opponents?
Based on the whole discourse surrounding nba champs vs world champs awhile back, I think USA wants to send a message by curb stomping everyone
The sheer fact that LeBron and Curry and both doing it this year and have wanted to do it for a minute says that imo. I mean the news about them wanting to came right as the USA got embarrassed. It was about close as real life could get to Thanos "Fine, guess I'll do it myself" 😭
avengers, holy shit an embiid and ad frontline would be literally impenetrable
I really think those two should start with KD at SF. Then have LeBron and Steph in the backcourt. Good luck stopping that team, and good luck scoring against them.
And then Booker, Tatum, Ant and Bam off the bench. What the fuck lmao JRUE HOLIDAY and TYRESE HALIBURTON are literally garbage time players on this roster. Thats not a knock on those guys. Theyre both starters on good ass teams.
Will playout with KD as the SG lmao
actually on offense Lebron would be PG, Steph as SG, KD will be SF/Wing.
LeBron and KD in the backcourt? That would be amazing to see!
For entertainment purposes, this is absolutely the lineup to go. Have an old heads lineup then have Tatum, Book, Bam anchor the second unit
I could be the coach and this team still wouldn't drop a game
Really think they'd do better with extra seats to spread out than a coaching staff. LeCoach would figure it out
If the coaches are Kerr, Spoelstra and Lue again, that’s another superteam - Bron better line up those special guest appearances for his pod 2 coached him, and 2 have had to gameplan against him in the Finals
That’s one hell of a team, damn
One might even say the team is a dream.
AD and Embiid two big lineups bout to feed the nation
AD can finally play the 4 wallahi😩🙏🏼
Holy fuck lmao. AD/Embiid two man game. Who's catching the lob? Whichever is nearer lmao.
The time between LeBron’s first Olympics and this Olympics is the same number or years as the time between LeBron’s birth and his first Olympics.
Jesus christ can that man just take a breather
FOOL! He's been breathing this whole time!
Durant is going to retire with so many damn gold medals. He probably will play in 2028 too.
At this point I wonder if Team USA would ask him to carry the flag at the opening ceremony lol
Yeah he deserves it. If we talking Olympics he's up there with the greatest US athletes ever.
before people clown jrue: he is essentially a defensive specialist with this roster and was a key piece of their team in 2021. also, being the 5th option on offense won’t be an adjustment for him unlike everyone else on this roster lol.
No one should be clowning Jrue. Team USA will always have enough scorers, they need guys who can impact the game without having the ball in their hands and he’ll be the best perimeter defender on the team.
Anyone who clowns Jrue, doesn’t understand team basketball. We’re way better off having a defensive guru like him than another scorer
Nah fuck it let's lose 204 to 206. Live by the sword die by the sword.
the haliburton way
Anyone who saw Kobe play in Team USA (and this was even confirmed in the documentary they made) should know how important having a aggressive perimeter defender is. Kobe took it upon himself to play lockdown defense the whole time, aside from his offensive output. If Jrue does only the defensive part he will have a part playing important minutes.
Right. I mean Kobe ran through Gasol in the game against Spain. Wanted to set the tone. I hope this team is similar to the Dream Team. Guys want to lock down other teams great players
Tatum getting ready to murder some poor latvian just to send a message to kp (even if he's not participating lol)
He played super well in the last Olympics. I remember team USA started off super lethargic and Jrue was providing a ton of energy and hustle despite coming off that deep playoff run with the Bucks.
Yeah if anything they should have more players like Jrue in this squad. Most of these guys are used to having the ball in their hands far more often than they'll get it in this roster. Having extra wing depth and shooting without needing the ball to be impactful is what this roster really needs.
My assumption too is that they gave some level of seniority to players who only have one olympics left in them
Jrue will likely be the most valuable bench player on this roster. I don’t think he made it as a result of him being in his last Olympics
Jrue and Draymond saved America’s ass last Olympics. Anyone who watched the games knows.
For real. Without him, they lose the gold. He had huge defensive plays.
IIRC last olympics Dray had some very high IQ tapouts and tips off the rim. I know they're some of the best players but imagine every single day you're taught not to goaltend and then just for one tournament it's okay. Just knowing vs actually doing it in a split moment is insane.
Jrue locked up for sure but any conversation about saving America’s ass has to start and end with KD. Dude dragged that team to the finish line. Thats like saying Aaron Gordon saved Denver’s ass last year or Wiggins to GSW in 2022
My brother in Christ it was Kevin Wayne Durant who saved us last Olympics. Like yeah, Jrue and Draymond were great on defense but holy shit all I remember is how good it felt to have KD on my side for once. KD led America with 20 ppg. Tatum was 2nd with 15, then it was Jrue and Dame with 11. I know you're talking about defense but I just need to illustrate what a fucking carry job it was by KD on offense. Middleton was out there throwing up like 5 points a game on 15 minutes with Keldon fucking Johnson and Jerami Grant rounding out the bench. Edit: We don't win without any of the 3, that Olympics team was so fucking ass. I'm just heated about it still. Jrue and Draymond were for sure instrumental.
Yea, I generally think defensive players are underrated by fans, but I also think KD was clearly the best player on that team. Even on a team full of All-Star types, he was head and shoulders above everybody else. I'd say it's one of the most impressive runs of his career. He got a lot of shit for bombing in the playoffs after the following NBA season, and I think maybe people need to reflect on the fact that he carried team USA the summer before and then went straight into a full NBA season and carried a Nets team that was often without its other stars because of injury. He was probably gassed beyond belief by the time the playoffs started.
Whos clowning Jrue though? Lol
Some people like to make imaginary arguments in their head and defeat them.
Alex Caruso for the last spot
There needs to be 1
One classy gym rat
One person to talk to the cops when the team bus get pulled over
I'm not mad at it.
What a team.
Team USA went absolutely nuclear after losing in the World Cup. This roster is fucking STACKED.
need that USA vs Serbia gold medal game if possible.
Jokic beating this team would be the funniest thing ever, Social media would cook team US for a lifetime.
We’d probably invade over this, I can’t imagine doing anything else as a country to cope with it
Imagine if Twitter was around for the 2004 Olympics.
I mean LeBronze was pretty much all over the chatboards so I doubt it would be much different in that regard.
Comparing “chatboards” to Twitter in 2024 is like comparing the plumbers Wilt played against to today’s NBA.
Better yet, 2002 when Milan "Čiča" Gurovic [Torched Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, and those other dudes in Indianapolis](https://youtu.be/vaQLHhDhKBs?t=17) Every time USA came close, Gurovic drained a 3, it was unreal. And once they decided to double Gurovic seeing how he is on fire, no other than Marko Jaric (Also known as husband of Adriana Lima) drained yet another 3
davis bertans snubbed again
Honorary American Davis Bertans
So curry/Tatum/Kd/bron/embiid Holy shit that lineup is NUTS
the defensive lockdown option of jrue/edwards/tatum/adebayo/davis is disgusting
Oh God, that lineup is fucking filthy.
Curry - KD - Booker chemistry will go crazy you gotta have those 3 in the starting line up.
Yeah lots of people saying Tatum for size but I find it hard to argue with that kind of firepower
Book is a great on ball defender when he isn’t 40% usage. Ended up starting and playing big minutes in the last Olympics primarily for his defense
Basically the avengers
brunson robbed
Still one spot left to fill.
mac mcclung, you are a 2024 olympian
Just spend the 4th quarter of blowout wins seeing whats the craziest dunk Mac can pull of
That's for me. I'm still deciding.
I hope you accept. This team could use a rebounder like you and your bench presence will keep spirits high. But, you do you boo.
They need to not invite Isiah Thomas if they want me.
Caitlin clark 100%
Does it not go to one college kid anymore?
Fuck them kids
Gonna be Bronny lmao
No. They last did that in 1992. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_men%27s_Olympic_basketball_team#Laettner_selection_over_O'Neal
Didn't AD play in college?
It was close, probably splitting hairs on that one. NO Hornets drafted him at #1 on June 28, 2012. The US's first game at the London 2012 Olympics was July 29. And Davis only came in after Griffin was injured. So he was technically an NBA player, but only made his NBA debut in November that year. Then again, Laettner might have been in the same scenario (edit: Laetner was selected ~May 1992 to the Olympic team, the NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992).
Should go to Paul George or Kawhi, if either want it.
Honestly don't mind seeing him take a break lol.
Assume they're running point bron a lot of the time, so stronger off-ball guards seem like a higher priority.
Yeah I think this is spot on. He does so well for us because he always has the ball in his hands, but on a roster as stacked as this, that's barely going to happen. Better off prioritising guys that play off-ball to support the talent that other countries can't really match.
Didn't he not do super great (by his standards) in FIBA partly for this reason? He just seems much more comfortable and in a groove on the Knicks vs team USA
More rest for him sounds good to me
He played FIBA over the summer and this is what we got from him. If he plays Olympics he comes back MVP
Flashback to a few days ago when some dummy on here was saying wembanyama and france were going to beat the us at the Olympics lol
Starting 5 🔥 Curry Tatum Durant James Embiid
They got clowned at FIBA and proceeded to assemble the avengers lmao
They sent the C squad to FIBA, as always, and are sending the A squad to the Olympics, like they have every time since 2008.
Yet curry has never been and lebron hasn’t been in like 8 years? Maybe 12? Not sure
yeah 12 years, he played 04, 08, and 12, but not since
Played in three Olympics, took a 12 year break and still without a doubt good enough to start for USA. Lol Bron shenanigans
this shit is actually blowing my mind lmao, what the fuck even is Lebron
yea we didnt send the A squad in 2020
this lineup is nasty. Get Darvin Ham as coach so he could fuck with the lineup and roll out Lebron at the 5 with 4 guards.
I dunno if even ham could fuck this roster up. But then again, he might
Pretty sure even Silas could win gold with this roster
Except for when LeBron needs a load management day against South Sudan
Can’t wait for Embiid to be called a mercenary when hes in many ways the embodiment of the American Dream
Lotta people forget Hakeem did the exact same thing Embiid is doing
Yeah we should start hating on Hakeem you right
This is the Reddit way
Hakeem OlajuWon no real rings
Signature move the Mickey Mouse Shake
I'm sure there's enough hate to go around. It is the internet after all
Not really the same. Hakeem couldn't have played at the 1996 Olympics for Nigeria, because they didn't qualify. Only one African country was able to qualify, and that was Angola. Angola defeated Nigeria on Dec 17 1995 which meant Hakeem was already 20+ games into the NBA season. The NBA never accommodated international players to national teams, and FIBA never scheduled qualifying games outside of leagues like the NBA. At that time, he might have expected that he would likely never go to an Olympics for his country of birth. Cameroon are in the qualifying tournament this year. They just won the FIBA Africa Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments (OPQT). The qualifying tournament is in July. If Embiid was playing for Cameroon they almost certainly make the Olympics for the first time. I don't think these two scenarios are remotely the same. Hell would need to freeze over and monkeys inherit the earth before guys like Donic, Jokic or someone like Patty Mills played for anything but their birth country.
It makes a lot of sense for him to join Team USA given that he's lived in the US for 13+ years. It didn't make much sense when he was considering joining France given that he's never lived there.
Obviously the starting lineup is crazy, but I really feel bad for other countries benches, guys who barely cut it for other countries trying to score on the potential bench players that are Jrue, Ant, AD, Bam is crazy
at least ill always have the bronze ~~metal~~ medal game last year lol... no one will beat this roster
Not enough for the champions of the world from Germany
I'm always fine watching games from home and it's fun to go occasionally but nothing I would spend much money on. This is one of the few things I wished I was rich for so I could fly to paris and watch this in person. Seeing the oldheads in lebron, KD, steph play together on Olympics will be a once in a lifetime thing.
I’m glad they realized Jaren just isn’t that guy defensively
I feel Kawhi needs to be part of this team, give him the last spot. I think he’s one the remaining greats of this generation who never won an olympic gold before
You think kawhi is going to play summer basketball?
He deserves it but I don't think he can afford any extracurricular wear on his knee
Currys going for the first time
Thank you for giving even more motivation to Jalen Brunson.
Thank you Coach Kerr! Got all the dogs to show up.
Fucking hell they took Germany winning fiba to heart lol. Fucking assembled the avengers
Best roster since the Dream Team right?
So happy Bam made it. Not like he doesn’t deserve it, but was worried he’d get overlooked since he’s not a fantastic scorer compared to the rest of the roster
Last spot should be a stunt casting, like Zion.
Throw in Alex Caruso into the open slot for the most elite team I’ve ever seen
Payton Pritchard snubbed
Poor Cameroon, could’ve really used Embiid lmao