Five Reasons Why Team USA Men's Basketball Will Win Gold Medal at 2024 Paris Olympics | Deadspin.com
Team USA is a lock to win the men's basketball gold medal in Paris this week. Here are the five biggest reasons why: It would be no surprise if the last thing Steve Kerr told LeBron James on the way to court for the Olympic opener against Serbia was, “Take it easy. We’re going to need you down the line.” Clearly, James paid no attention. When he hasn’t been snarling and flexing, one of the greatest basketball players of all time has been the best on the world’s biggest stage, even at age 39. He’s played 66 minutes in three games. Team USA has outscored its opposition by 32 points over that span. He’s taken 21 shots from inside the 3-point line and missed just four of them. And he leads the tournament in assists with 22. Now consider this: He has spent almost as much time on the bench as on the court. So maybe James HAS been taking it easy. Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards are shooting 64% and 63%, respectively, off the bench. Devin Booker’s defensive intensity has been indistinguishable from that of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum have responded positively to benchings. Bam Adebayo has laid claim to Best Third-String Center in Basketball History honors. This says it all: On a team featuring 12 players who totaled 557 games with 20 or more points last NBA season, only three—James, Durant and Edwards—have reached that mark even once in France. And nobody is complaining. Heck, only those three superstars have reached double figures for the Americans every time out, with Edwards (11 vs. Serbia), Durant (11 vs. Puerto Rico), and James (10 vs. Puerto Rico) barely retaining that distinction. Meanwhile, the (choose your favorite) old, selfish or disinterested Americans lead the event in assists and steals and have done so by sharing the wealth. Team USA has yet to have a game where fewer than seven players had an assist or fewer than six players had a steal. While American kids learn how to dribble between their legs, foreign basketball players perfect the art of 3-point shooting. Or so they say. If so, Team USA picked 12 guys who are exceptions to the rule. The Americans have outscored the competition—Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico—by 30 points from beyond the international arc so far in the Olympics, despite taking nine fewer overall attempts. They’ve shot 43% on 3’s while holding the opposition to 29%. Only Brazil, Team USA’s next opponent, has made a higher percentage of its 3’s (45.3). That said, only Canada has attempted fewer 3’s than the Brazilians. And here’s the scary part: It’s contagious. Five different Americans—Durant (71%), Booker (56%), Edwards (54%), Holiday (50%) and Tyrese Haliburton (50%)—have made at least half their 3-point attempts. For crying out loud, even Adebayo (40%) is making them. Remember when the biggest concern was whether Durant was going to be healthy enough to contribute to the cause, or was he going to have to be replaced? Turns out it was his former teammate who has had fans grumbling: Get him out of there. The greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history has been one of the worst 3-point shooters at these Games. He’s gone just 5-for-19 (26%) despite his general reluctance to try something else (he’s 3-for-6 on two-pointers and has gotten to the free throw line just once). Curry currently ranks tied for fourth in the tournament in missed 3’s (14). Among the group, only fellow NBAer Franz Wagner of Germany (4-for-19, 21%) has a worse percentage. Raise your hand if you think the 43% career marksman from the NBA’s farther 3-point range is likely to have a similar hat trick in his next three games. Germany went undefeated in its group, winning by a total of 47 points. Yes, the same Germans who were beaten by Team USA without Durant on a neutral court (London) on the eve of the start of the Games. Germany beat the host team, France, by 14 in pool play. In turn, France beat Brazil, Team USA’s quarterfinal opponent, by 12. Canada also went unbeaten in its group, prevailing by 20 points. Yes, the same Canadians who were beaten by Team USA in an exhibition in Las Vegas last month. In France, Canada won by 10 over Australia, who in turn won by 12 over Spain, who in turn won by seven over Greece. France, Australia, Spain and Greece shared the dishonor of having been the Stephen Curry of teams in pool play. The Americans won’t have to deal with BOTH the Canadians and Germans en route to gold. Canada and Germany are on the other side of the draw, leaving Team USA to face Brazil, easily the weakest of the final eight, and then either Serbia or Australia in the semifinals. The Americans already beat the Serbs by 26. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Dwight Powell. That’s Canada. That appears to be the team to beat. James, Durant, Curry, Edwards, Davis. Booker, Holiday, Tatum, Adebayo, Embiid. That’s Team USA. That’s who’s going to beat them. And everyone else.
LeBron James is healthy and hungry.
Star players have accepted roles
We’re beating them at their game
Stephen Curry has yet to show up
The competition just isn’t very good
