Does a basketball team featuring LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, amongst others, really have reason to worry heading into the Olympics?
What might seem to be a wild suggestion on the surface is becoming a major topic of conversation in the sporting world, thanks to some underwhelming performances by Team USA in recent tuneup games.
On Saturday, the stacked Americans had to rely on a late layup from James and a missed three-pointer at the other end to escape with a one-point victory over South Sudan, the world’s newest nation and the lowest-ranked squad (33rd in the FIBA rankings) in the 16-team Olympic tournament. Team USA was merely 43.5 point favourites before the game.
Two days later, again at O2 Arena in London, LeBron had to rise to the occasion once more — and he’s done it a few times over the years — scoring his team’s final 11 points, to carry the Americans to a 92-88 win over Germany. This was another game where Team USA was favoured by 15.5-point favourites
Team USA is overflowing with high-end players: James, Curry and Durant have combined for eight NBA MVP awards, and the supporting cast adds depth with many All-NBA players like Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards. But international basketball is a slightly different brand of competition than the NBA variety, and anything can happen in one-game scenarios, which Team USA found out the hard way in the past.
The Canadian team has not been immune to tournament struggles, either: Since 2015, Canada has been the overwhelming favourite and most athletic team at several FIBA competitions, winning many games by wide margins, before falling short in the single-game portion of the tournaments. At least Canada broke through at last year’s FIBA World Cup, knocking off the Americans in the bronze-medal game.
Sure, anything is possible: America might not win gold for the first time since 2004 in Athens. But if we are being honest, they probably will. A major factor to consider: Durant has yet to play as he works his way back from injury. He is in the running as the most devastating scorer in the history of the sport and has led the men’s tournament in points at each of the previous three Olympics. He’s also averaged 29.2 points in four gold-medal games and hit half of his three-point attempts in Olympic play. Even at nearly 36 years old, Durant should make a critical difference for his team.
Head coach Steve Kerr also appears to be focusing on defence — or a lack thereof — in the run-up to the Games. He’s starting Jrue Holiday, one of the premier defenders on the planet, and playing Derrick White instead of NBA assist leader Tyrese Haliburton. Durant’s Phoenix Suns teammate Booker probably moves to the bench when Durant returns, improving the team at both ends of the floor and making the reserve lineups quite imposing.
And it’s not like playing a close game with Germany is that big of a surprise, as Germany won the World Cup last summer, knocking the U.S. out in the process, has four NBA players in its rotation and great chemistry and three-point marksmanship. The South Sudan game was the bigger worry.
It’s also better to lose early than later, and even these wakeup calls should benefit the team in the long run. The previous gold medalists dropped a pair of friendlies heading to Tokyo in 2021 and even Game 1 against France.
There’s little benefit to blowing out all competition and then expecting to be in top form when the games get really tough. That can breed overconfidence.
“There’s great teams all over the place and nothing is guaranteed at this point for USA Basketball,” head coach Steve Kerr said earlier this summer, according to the Associated Press. “Our gold-medal game against France went right down to the wire. So, this is an entirely different competition than it was in 1992.”
Unlike the Dream Team, which famously left Michael Jordan foe Isiah Thomas and superstar-in-waiting Shaquille O’Neal at home, this group will have to work on team chemistry. Former MVP Joel Embiid spurned Cameroon and France to play for the United States, but is used to the game running through him at both ends of the floor. Others will have to accept far lesser roles than they are used to, but there is strong leadership in James, Curry and Durant, alongside the experienced coaching staff.
Kerr had told reporters that Team USA was “not up to par” defensively against South Sudan, and you could already notice a difference on that end two days later against Germany. Plenty of offence was created by the Americans overwhelming the Germans on defence, and getting out and running in the open court. That’s going to be a strength, particularly when the reserves take the floor, but even James is turning back the clock, looking nothing like a man who turns 40 in December. But the NBA’s all-time scoring leader also noted that many of the other teams in the field have been practicing together for weeks or months in advance and could be in sharper form than the Americans. Group C also features World Cup runner-up Serbia, featuring the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic, South Sudan and plucky Puerto Rico. The competition should only stiffen from there.
“We can be beat if we don’t play our brand of basketball and our brand of basketball is playing defence,” Curry cautioned, per the Associated Press.
“But we also learned we have that gear. If we can find it, no matter who’s out there on the court, we can overwhelm teams for 40 minutes. And it’s a great reminder of both. If we don’t play our game, we can be beat. We’re not invincible.”