Steve Kerr's first year as the head coach of Team USA did not go according to plan. They finished in fourth during their 2023 FIBA World Cup run in Manila, which, suffice to say, is a huge disappointment, as it's always gold medal or bust for the most stacked basketball nation in the world. With redemption in the 2024 Paris Olympics as their main goal, the national team committee brought in the heavy hitters, such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
Kerr and Curry, in particular, go way back; the two have been at the heart of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty that was built at the start of the 2014-15 season. They are 10 years into their partnership — which is both a frightening reminder of how fast time flies and a helpful nuggets for Team USA's bid to reclaim international basketball supremacy.
In particular, Steve Kerr plans to utilize all his years of experience in coaching Stephen Curry to bring out the best in him, featuring him heavily in Team USA's playbook with a slew of plays straight from the Warriors' bag.
“Having Steph on the team is fantastic for a number of reasons. He's obviously a brilliant player, but the comfort level that we have together. We’ll run some of the actions we run in Golden State for him. He's very familiar with everything we're doing,” Kerr told reporters, per NBC Sports Warriors via ClutchPoints Twitter (X).
Steve Kerr clarified that Stephen Curry's impact stretches beyond the tactics they have drawn up on the board. Curry has a level of trust in Kerr thanks to their decade-long partnership with the Warriors that would then help get the rest of Team USA on the same page.
“But it's not just Xs and Os. He's one of our leaders. For me to have the ear of one of our leaders, and vice versa, I think it helps the communication process with the rest of the team,” Kerr added.
It will certainly be a delight for Kerr to have the services of the greatest off-ball player of all time, someone whom opposing defenses cannot leave at any time. Stephen Curry's game-breaking gravity and unselfishness makes him the perfect fit for Team USA, and Kerr will be doing a disservice for everyone if he doesn't maximize Curry's skillset by deploying some Warriors-exclusive strategies.
Could this be the best iteration of Team USA ever?
Calling any other version of Team USA aside from the 1992 Dream Team as the best ever may seem blasphemous, and for good reason. That 1992 squad destroyed every team that came in their way of achieving the gold medal in Barcelona. But since then, there have been great basketball advancements all over the globe, closing the gap between the United States and the world in terms of talent and skill level.
The 2024 version of Team USA might be the most stacked it has been since 1992; this team will be having the services of four former MVPs in Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid. Curry, James, and Durant may be on the wrong side of 30, with James even turning 40 later this year, but in terms of basketball pedigree at the time of Olympic representation, this 2024 team may be unmatched.
The 1992 Dream Team only had three MVPs at the time of the Olympic Games (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson). However, Bird was retired from the NBA by this time, and Johnson only came out of retirement following after he had contracted HIV. Simply put, Bird and Johnson were not exactly the players they once were in 1992.
Of course, it's hard to view Curry, James, and Durant as being in their primes. But they are still playing at an incredibly high level, no ifs or buts.
Curry averaged 26/5/5 for the Warriors last season, James was voted as the best player in Team USA training camp following a season in which he averaged 25/7/8, and Durant was still one of the best scorers in the association last year as he put up 27/7/5 on a nightly basis. Joel Embiid scored 34.7 points a night last season, and him being in the middle for Team USA gives them one of the most formidable scorers in world basketball.
This is without even mentioning four NBA champions that the 2024 team has in Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, and Jrue Holiday. (The 1992 team had no other champions aside from Jordan, Bird, Johnson, and Scottie Pippen.) The 2024 Team USA squad also doesn't have a token member like the 1992 team did in Christian Laettner.
Only time will tell, of course, if the 2024 version of Team USA steamrolls opponents the way the 1992 squad did. 32 years ago in Barcelona, Team USA won by an average of 43.8 points, and they didn't even see the need to call a timeout once. But they certainly have the talent and the fit to replicate or even surpass that level of dominance.
Follow Us
Subscribe
