Team USA may have run into some speedbumps during their preparation games for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but they remain the head and shoulders favorite to bag home the gold medal. Nevertheless, it is never wise to count one’s eggs before they hatch. The other nations have improved at astronomical rate, and many teams should be able to give them a run for their money, giving everyone some entertaining matchups along the way.
For Team USA, there are many potentially enthralling matchups that will capture the attention of fans around the globe. As the “hunted”, so to speak, they will get the best out of their opponents in every game. But for Stephen Curry, he is looking forward to one matchup only — with Kevin Durant giving Curry his stamp of approval in their joint presser.
“[I’m looking forward the most to play against] whoever’s in the gold medal game,” Curry said.
“Great answer,” Durant replied.
Question: "Who are you looking forward to most to play against?"
Stephen Curry: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Kevin Durant: "Great answer."
Steph: "Thank you." 😅
(via @usabasketball)pic.twitter.com/iEIZr57uw2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 25, 2024
Stephen Curry has the mindset of a champion, and he wants nothing more than to take home his first, and perhaps last, Olympic gold medal. But Team USA better not let this ultimate goal of theirs distract them from taking it one game at a time.
Team USA will begin their group stage journey on July 28 with a very difficult matchup against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, and then they’ll be having a rematch against South Sudan, the unheralded team that gave them a run for their money during exhibition season. They will then finish up Group C action with a matchup against Puerto Rico led by Jose Alvarado and former NBA talents Davon Reed, Tremont Waters, and Gian Clavell.
Which nation will push Stephen Curry and Team USA to the brink?
Anything can happen in international basketball. As stacked as this Team USA roster may be, anything can happen in a single-game elimination format in the gauntlet leading up to the gold medal game.
Many believe that Serbia pose the biggest threat to Team USA, and that may be true. Nikola Jokic is arguably the greatest basketball player in the world at the moment; can his teammates make enough shots to capitalize on the defensive attention he’ll be drawing?
Nations such as Canada, Australia, Greece, and Spain all have a legitimate shot, but those teams are grouped with each other in the notorious Group of Death, which means that at least one of those countries will be bowing out of 5-on-5 basketball gold medal contention following the group stage.
And then there’s France and Germany; it will be mighty difficult for any team to score on France inside the paint, with Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, first-placer and runner-up in the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year race, respectively, protecting the rim. Meanwhile, Germany is a well-oiled machine coming off a rousing run to the gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The gold medal game picture is very much wide open. It will all boil down to three-point variance and composure amid adversity, and teams led by veterans who have been there and done that in international play could have the edge.
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