Team USA has been on a roll in the 2024 Olympics. Ever since getting called out by Noah Lyles last year in the FIBA World Cup, the American basketball team has proven to be worthy of the moniker “world champions”. For context, Lyles previously called out the NBA for claiming to be world champions despite playing only in the USA. Now with Team USA's current roster consisting of an all-NBA team, they're slowly proving the runner wrong.
As of this publishing, the American basketball team is undefeated with a 3-0 record. They beat teams like Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico to stay on top of the basketball world. However, despite being undefeated so far, there are teams that Team USA needs to keep an eye out for. These teams could potentially hurt their chances of winning the gold medal this year.
With that said, here are the three teams that could beat Team USA for the gold medal.
Canada
As of this publishing, Canada is one of the undefeated men's basketball teams in the 2024 Olympics. Throughout the event, they beat Greece, Australia, and Spain to notch a 3-0 record. Their leading scorer at the moment is RJ Barret, who is averaging 21.0 points per game.
Supporting Barret are Dillon Brooks, NBA MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and one-time NBA champion Jamal Murray. On paper, they seem inferior to the stacked lineup of Team USA. However, given that Canada's team consists of NBA players as well, they've been able to take advantage of their superior talents compared to the other teams with fewer NBA players.
Given these factors, Canada is still a potentially tough matchup if the Americans end up facing them. It will come down to which NBA-studded team is hungrier for the gold. Either way, we see this as a win-win situation. If Canada ends up winning the gold medal, the NBA will still gain bragging rights to call themselves world champions.
Germany
Another undefeated team on this list is Germany. They are also 3-0 after beating Japan, Brazil, and France. Their best player is Dennis Schroder, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 19.7 points and 9.0 assists.
Schroder is usually a role-player when performing in the NBA. But when it comes to international basketball competitions, he becomes a standout player for his country. While he may be the best player on his team, he thankfully has solid backups in Franz Wagner and Daniel Theis.
Wagner is Germany's leading scorer with an average of 21.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Theis is in charge of picking up the garbage with an average of 7.0 rebounds per game.
One of the key factors that Team USA needs to look out for when going up against the Germans is their swiftness and tight defense. There's no denying that this year's USA lineup has some of the most lethal scorers in basketball history. But that doesn't mean that they can't be stopped. If the Americans can figure out a way to overcome Germany's challenging defense, they should be able to easily outscore them.
Serbia
We know what you're thinking, Team USA already beat Serbia in their opening game. But that doesn't mean the Serbians can't get the Americans back.
Serbia is currently led by three-time NBA MVP and one-time NBA champion Nikola Jokic. As usual, Jokic is nearly averaging a triple-double with 18.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists. While he has someone like Bogdan Bogdanovic assisting him on the offensive end, it seems like Jokic is doing everything else on his own. Nevertheless, Serbia proved to be a worthy opponent against Team USA despite the loss in the opening game.
During their matchup last Sunday, the Serbians kept up with the star-studded Americans in the first half. They ended the half with a score of 58-49 in favor of USA. While LeBron James and Kevin Durant ultimately sealed the deal with a 110-84 finish, there were several moments when Jokic kept the game close for his team.
Looking at their record, Serbia is currently 2-1. Against other teams, they seem to be a superior squad. Having that said, they need to figure out how to support their star big man if they end up facing Team USA in the semifinals. Once the coaches manage to come up with efficient plays to support Jokic efficiently, James and the rest of his superteam could fall off against them. What the Serbians need to do now is keep up with Jokic's efficiency and match his energy.
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