Currently, Team USA basketball is in Abu Dhabi playing some exhibition basketball in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, which are set to get underway in just under two weeks' time. This year's iteration of Team USA features several big names from the NBA, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry, and while the team hasn't looked particularly impressive thus far in the exhibition rounds, they still figure to be the clear cut favorites to win gold at the Olympics.
While the star-studded squad gets ready to take their talents to France and compete in the Olympic games, several NBA stars back home are getting ready to watch and support their fellow American players, including Stephen Curry's teammate Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, who recently made a bold prediction about Team USA's chances in Paris.
“Absolutely. This is our sport, that's what we do, of course we are winning the gold,” said Green, via NBA on ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
Draymond Green himself of course is a two-time Olympics gold medalist for Team USA, first at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro and then in 2020 (technically 2021) in Tokyo.
Does Team USA have what it takes?
On paper, Team USA would figure to be easily the most purely talented team of all of those in the pool heading into this Olympics tournament. While James, Curry, and Durant may not be quite at the level that they were during their respective primes, they are still top 15 players in the league, and have a cast around them on the American squad this year that includes players like Joel Embiid, Anthony Edwards, and Jayson Tatum, among other All-Star caliber talents.
Elsewhere in the pool, there is also plenty of NBA talent, including on Team Australia, the team that Team USA hung on to be on Monday. That team included players like Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, and others, but Team USA was still able to make just enough plays down the stretch to hold off a furious Australian comeback.
Perhaps the team with the most talent outside of Team USA would be the Canadian national team. That squad features Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, RJ Barrett, and other players who currently shine in the NBA. However, although it doesn't count for the Olympics themselves, Team USA has already defeated Team Canada last week at an exhibition game in Las Vegas, and would be the clear favorites to do so again if the squads matched up in Paris.
At the FIBA tournament last summer, it was the German national team who took home the gold, with Team USA ultimately not even placing; however, it should be noted that that Team USA squad looked nothing like the star-studded cast currently getting ready to participate in 2024.
In any case, the Olympics are slated to begin on July 26, and the country will be watching to see if this squad can etch their name into the history books.
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