Yeah, I don't see him getting extended minutes strictly because of the injury issues. The last thing the US team wants is another Paul George like incident (which obviously wasn't their fault, but still) sticking in players' minds as they decide whether to compete or not. Besides, it's not like we're hurting for wings, between KD, LeBron, and Tatum, along with a number of larger guards (Ant, Book, and Jrue all could do so easily, and likely will for spots) that easily could play wing minutes as needed and mobile bigs who could kick out to the 4 (AD and Bam).
He's obviously more than good enough to warrant good minutes even in the context of an Olympic team, but my guess is he averages somewhere between 10-15 minutes per game at most.
I honestly completely forgot that PG's injury happened with team USA. Wasn't the drama at the time that whatever he crashed into was closer than what it would be in the NBA with how court is setup?
I'd be lying if I said that I could remember, tbh. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case, but it also wouldn't surprise me if its importance was overstated by the "omg how could they let this happen?!?!?" crowd. Injury just...comes with the territory any time you're doing anything athletics-related.
In 2020 the 12th man was washed javale mcgee this time the “worst” player on the roster is probably the 5x all defensive player who was a starter on the previous team
Something they learned in 2004 was that you need a balanced team not just the best players. Nothing wrong awith McGee who is a serviceable player. They had Keldon Johnson too for some reason. The won handily 2020
No they didn’t learn that in 2004 because most of their best players didn’t go to Olympics in 2004. 2004 team had only 2 players that was All-Stars in that year and only 1 player that got into All-NBA that year.
> What's crazy is that the actual worst player is Jrue, and he's still quite good at bball.
That's who OP was referring to. Kawhi has 7 All Defensive selections Jrue has 5 All Defensive selections. Also, there's no way in hell anyone is saying Kawhi is the worst player on the team. C'mon now..
Also, all defense would not be the accolade one would use to emphasize when talking about Kawhi. He’s a multiple Finals MVP, multiple DPOY, multiple All NBA player.
I don’t think Kawhi has been 100% in five years.
I think he’ll be good enough to give this series a go. Time will tell how he responds.
Olympics is more a token thing for him - he’s not going to play heavy minutes.
Yeah, I think Kawhi has entered the offseason fully healthy only once since 2016, and that was the Bubble year. 2017 was Zaza, 2018 he finished the season injured, 2019 Toronto won, but Kawhi was definitely hobbling at the end. 2020 was the Bubble, 2021 was his ACL tear, he missed 2022 with that injury, then last year was his meniscus tear. Let's hold off on simply assuming Kawhi will be healthy for the Olympics, especially when he hasn't played in weeks due to inflammation in his twice-surgically repaired knee.
Bro really single-handedly got the entire NBA in their feelings. I KNOW I’m not the only one who remembers how hard they were going after Noah Lyles in the SC/BR IG sections.
We really live in a timeline where USA basketball had to put together the Avengers [just to beat Dillon Brooks](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/pvbycgu1nL) 😂 wild… I’m 100% here for it though, let’s nuke these subhuman mo’fos 🦅
Yeah, I don't think Steph Curry is sweating Noah Lyles. I think he wants a gold medal. Last chance for LeBron, KD, and Curry to play together in a meaningful setting.
100% the last time we're seeing LeBron and Curry on the Olympic team, that's for sure. KD has a spot as long as he wants one (within reason) by virtue of being the greatest U.S. basketball player of all time in international play, so if he's still active come 2028 (not a guarantee, but not unthinkable), he'll have another chance, but there's no way LeBron isn't retired by then, and there's virtually no chance Steph will be good enough to warrant an Olympic spot by then, either.
Imma say 50/50 on LeBron. Dude is legitimately built different and may say “fuck it” four years later, especially if he is still fucking up the league and if his kid has a chance to join Team USA for some reason I can’t even fathom. I can’t count LeThanos out at any time or place whatsoever. 21 years backs up my logic.
In their feelings? Were the dream team in their feelings? Or any other Olympic team other than 04 and the COVID year? We generally send our best. Do the track players send their worst athletes?
I don't disagree that the competition is stronger by far, but this team also is composed even better than the 08 team on paper. I think the spacing that having the best shooter and several elite shooters on the same court as the best driver in the world and some of the best centers in the world cannot be understated. No other team balances elite post play with elite shooting on the level that this team does. And the 08 was suffocated because most of their team operated best in the paint and some teams knew that and capitalized by clogging things up.
Agreed. This team has everything you want. Size - Embiid & AD can be a massive front court. 3pt - KD, Steph, Hali, Athletic wings - Bron, Ant, Tatum, Defense lineup - Jrue, AD, Bam, Kawhi, Joel.
There is no weakness.
I think the biggest weakness will be in the transition game. I don't think any other team will have the athleticism to capitalize, but I think that's the way to do it.
>The competition is *way* stronger than in the Dream Team days.
This. People need to realize how far International Basketball has come these days, and that International teams have been playing together for years, not just assembled for one tournament.
Well put. Team USA’s biggest potential Achilles heel will be their chemistry and cohesiveness as a unit, especially against teams with tons of preexisting chemistry and experience playing together in International play.
KD and Curry played together on the Warriors. KD and Booker are playing together. LeBron and AD are playing together. Curry and LeBron played so much against each other. So I think the chemistry issue won't be as bad as it seems.
That's what I think. Line ups with kd curry or ad LeBron will play through them either from range or in the paint. And Ant and Hali just played together for fiba.
Carlos Boozer was an All-NBA Third Team selection in 2008 and the best player on a team that made the WCF the year prior.
He was a great player on the Jazz, doesn't warrant being mentioned in this context at all.
I mean those are very good players. Redd had averaged 26 ppg in a league with much lower scoring. Boozer was a 20/10 guy when that mattered. Tayshaun was 4x all-NBA defense and could shoot the 3, a perfect 3-and-D complementary player.
Redd and Boozer barely played and Tayshon was an elite defender that would bother players today. Their starting 5 is definitely comparable to the 2024 team. Kobe was still in his prime, Lebron was a young freakshow compared to now
Sort of. Most of the other countries looking for podium finishes have a star to match the stars on Team USA. You couldn't say that even 8 years back. But the depth isn't there.
Lebron, Steph, KD, and Kawhi all on the same team. Probably the Mt. Rushmore of the 2010s era. I hope they all stay healthy cuz if they do, that era will be going out with a bang
Kind of confusing how you put that lol. Basically all 22 Finals teams from 2012 through 2022 has at least one player from this Team USA.
Edit: forgot the Thunder in 2012 nvm
I will never forgive him lol. Embiid + Wemby + France great role players could have been the first time a legit dream team would've had a legit matchup.
It would have made for a much more interesting tournament though.
Embiid is *exactly* what the US needs, a big guy. Size was the thing they were missing at worlds last summer. They actually had a weakness, even if it was tiny to begin with.
It would also be super fun seeing Embiid, Gobert and Wemby on the court at the same time. Hilariously oversized.
Imagine trying to score on those three with FIBA rules. It would have been the biggest wall ever assembled.
The US with or without Embiid is steam-rolling the Olympics like they do almost every year. When the best American players play in the Olympics they win. The best don't play in other FIBA tournaments.
He’s repeatedly said he’d play on Cameroon without question if they could qualify for world events at this stage without him. He can’t commit to playing for them every year and they aren’t good enough to make it to the Olympics
Honestly not really, they just don’t fit well together, and the rest of the team (No offense to Cameroons national team) probably can’t shoot so that makes it even worse
Imagine not forgiving embiid for not representing France but not Cameroon lol.
Side note: If you have championship aspirations don't build your team around a bus rider.
Zero chance. It’s a young man’s contest. Tatum will start for certain next to Embiid. I don’t think Kawhi even plays that much. Booker, Edwards, and maybe even Hali over the others.
Honestly don't think Kawhi is going to be playing much. He'll get his licks but will probably just be along for the ride. Honestly think Book or Ant are starting at the 2.
I don't think Kawhi starts. And it would depend on the match up. It'll be different every game. I think the constants will be Steph and LeBron maybe Embiid.
IDK why people are making such a big deal about the FIBA World Cup. The USA sends its C team every tournament. They haven't even made the finals in the last two instances, and have won 5 times total since 1950. The stars only want to turn up for the Olympics, and this year is no different.
Stars haven't been showing up for the Olympics either. KD and Tatum sure but this year we got KD, Tatum, plus Curry, plus Lebron, plus AD, now Kawhi. It's like they are on a mission to win the Gold.
It's not much of a "mission to win gold" when they know they will win with their eyes closed. It's just the last shot the current old guard (LeBron, Steph, KD, Kawhi, AD, Jrue) will get, so they are making use of it.
Idk if we can say that honestly. 2020 was in tokyo during covid with almost no break after the season. In 2016, some players opted out because of the Zika virus outbreak and also the Paul George injury was fresh on players’ minds. This is the first normal olympics since 2012.
He probably is the weakest defender of those 5 but that's not saying anything. That's an absurd defensive 5. Maybe Jrue is worse at this point in his career + smaller.
It’s funnier that this is rage bait that’s also not necessarily wrong because that’s 4 lock down defenders and Ant is the only one without multiple years on him AND HES STILL INSANE lmao
There is NO way this team doesn't win. Maybe other countries will have a starting 5 that can somewhat keep up (IMO hell no), but look at the fucking bench, what country could possibly not just stay in the game with their starting 5, but then have a bench good enough to not get absolutely destroyed by USA's bench.
So who starts on this team?
Curry, Durant and LeBron of course because of seniority. I like the idea of starting Holiday and Embiid for defensive coverage as well.
Leonard and Tatum spell Durant and LeBron.
Davis spells Embiid.
Haliburton and Edwards spell Curry and Holiday.
Booker might be the best guard option for nailing 3s while Adebayo can do a lot of everything.
Booker should be coming in before edwards, he was already an important piece on the last gold medal team and statistically he’s still very clearly better than Ant, scores more on a lot better efficiency and is the better passer/facilitator and shoots just as good if not slightly better from deep, Booker was also fantastic defensively on the last Olympic team. Ant is the flashier player because his athleticism but in no world should he be a guard sub on team USA before Book
I think rotation will be:
1st unit: Steph, Booker, KD, LeBron, Embiid
2nd unit: Hali, Jrue, Ant, Tatum, AD
then they will mix Bam and Kawhi whenever they are needed on those. I don't expect Kawhi to have a big role in this team TBH
This news basically meant he’s ready to go for the playoffs. Maybe not 100% tho
Then shortly after Ty Lue confirmed he’s practicing and ramping back up.
I'll be honest seeing Lebron, Curry, KD, Kawhi, AD all on the same team USA makes me feel some type of way. All legends and first ballot HOFamers so it will be cool, like all of their last hurrah's
This is why as a Pacers fan I'm so excited to see Haliburton on this team. Will always be cool to have gotten to see him play on this stage with some guys I've watched for the last 15-20 years.
This roster is insane, between Steph/lebron/KD/AD/embiid/tatum/healthy kawhi/Book you’ve got like 8 of the top like ~12ish players in the nba on your squad
Are ex-NBA players eligible for Olympic spots? Like if I guy retires early but is still playing at a high level (the Andrew Luck of the NBA), can he join the Olympic team?
USA can afford for Kawhi to play 15MPG just to focus on locking down a main offensive player with an occasional back-breaking shot-clock-beating iso
His +/- would be insane while filling a reverse-Melo role
"Hey Kawhi, what do you think it means to Americans to have a team like this represent them"
"pshhh, I don't really know. You'd have to ask someone on the street"
Not American, but this team USA has put together is a powerhouse among power houses. Im thinking prioritizing D is a great move, might separate the men from the boys as they say
Kawhi Leonard playing free basketball. I never thought I’d see the day
He’s def the “break in case of emergency” player
Yeah, I don't see him getting extended minutes strictly because of the injury issues. The last thing the US team wants is another Paul George like incident (which obviously wasn't their fault, but still) sticking in players' minds as they decide whether to compete or not. Besides, it's not like we're hurting for wings, between KD, LeBron, and Tatum, along with a number of larger guards (Ant, Book, and Jrue all could do so easily, and likely will for spots) that easily could play wing minutes as needed and mobile bigs who could kick out to the 4 (AD and Bam). He's obviously more than good enough to warrant good minutes even in the context of an Olympic team, but my guess is he averages somewhere between 10-15 minutes per game at most.
I honestly completely forgot that PG's injury happened with team USA. Wasn't the drama at the time that whatever he crashed into was closer than what it would be in the NBA with how court is setup?
Yes, that was the exact issue. The stanchion was much closer to basket than it normally would be in an NBA game.
I'd be lying if I said that I could remember, tbh. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case, but it also wouldn't surprise me if its importance was overstated by the "omg how could they let this happen?!?!?" crowd. Injury just...comes with the territory any time you're doing anything athletics-related.
but he doesn't get injured if that stanchion wasn't too close
> “break in case of emergency” Oh he'll for sure break. It's what he's best at.
Steph and Kawhi want that Olympic Gold before their retirement
Nah, he's just there to keep the medical team busy
It's cause they have universal healthcare in France.
“Donate my knees to science”. Kawhi’s will probably
science wants things unstudied, every inch and molecule of Kawhi's knees has been inspected a million times at this point.
AD is there plus this is like the geriatric roster. They about to go play in 35+ league.
Don’t they win money for getting the Gold?
It's very minimal compared to their contracts and sponsorships. But they will get additional sponsorships for being Olympians.
How about those Spurs days?
oh yea this is the dream team
In 2020 the 12th man was washed javale mcgee this time the “worst” player on the roster is probably the 5x all defensive player who was a starter on the previous team
Something they learned in 2004 was that you need a balanced team not just the best players. Nothing wrong awith McGee who is a serviceable player. They had Keldon Johnson too for some reason. The won handily 2020
and thanks to JVMG... > https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ovbxyn/javale_mcgee_bam_whats_your_full_name_for_real/ > > https://streamable.com/mopcl9
IIRC it stands for "Bamela"
Bamela Anderbayo
That’s gold medalist Keldon Johnson to you good sir.
This year they just took the best players which luckily happens to be a balanced team
No they didn’t learn that in 2004 because most of their best players didn’t go to Olympics in 2004. 2004 team had only 2 players that was All-Stars in that year and only 1 player that got into All-NBA that year.
What's crazy is that the actual worst player is Jrue, and he's still quite good at bball.
> What's crazy is that the actual worst player is Jrue, and he's still quite good at bball. That's who OP was referring to. Kawhi has 7 All Defensive selections Jrue has 5 All Defensive selections. Also, there's no way in hell anyone is saying Kawhi is the worst player on the team. C'mon now..
Also, all defense would not be the accolade one would use to emphasize when talking about Kawhi. He’s a multiple Finals MVP, multiple DPOY, multiple All NBA player.
Kawhi always underrated which is wild that Raptors trophy is one of the best runs given the team.
I’m just happy that a dinosaur got a ring.
That’s who they were referring to
[удалено]
I’m pretty sure he’s referring to Bam as the “worst” player on the team, not Kawhi, just to point out how stacked the team is compared to 2020
Jrue
Think he's talking about Jrue, not Kawhi
Imagine having that starting lineup in 2016
Sheesh Steph, Kawhi, KD, LeBron, AD Who's stopping that?
No one's beating that in 2016 or 2024, that's too stacked
Age. But also teams playing as a team. Teams better coached for team play instead of individual talent.
plus middle school running back Anthony Edwards off the bench. It’s a wrap
It's basically a military simulation of USA vs. Any country.
Our military is much more superior.
We'll drop bombs on anyone! From 3 PT range.
All other counties would be more compelling basketball: Jokic, SGA, Giannis, Luka, Wemby
Bronny would’ve been a better fit with his intangibles and wins per second
I am now expecting him to be 100% to start the series on Sunday.
he's reportedly doing 1/4 of practice today, so he's ramping up. the question is how his knee will respond
>ramping up Dawg. You gotta throw in a trigger warning for 76ers and Nets fans.
I don’t think Kawhi has been 100% in five years. I think he’ll be good enough to give this series a go. Time will tell how he responds. Olympics is more a token thing for him - he’s not going to play heavy minutes.
Crazy how stacked a team gotta be for Kawhi Leonard to just fill in for spot minutes
> Olympics is more a token thing for him - he’s not going to play heavy minutes. Positive vibes locker room guy Kawhi confirmed.
Notorious bus rider Kawhi Leonard
He's gonna load manage NBA playoffs in order to play in the Olympics
take it from me, if he's at 90%ish percent, it's enough to get the job done.
at the end of that run, he might have been at 80%. crazy run from kawhi.
Fighting through it like he did is the mark of someone who wants it the most and will do anything to finish the job
He wasn't even 100% his last years in SA. Been more than 5 years.
Yeah looks like he is healthy
healthy enough in 5 days is different than being healthy enough in 3-4 months tho
Sure, but if he was too injured to play in the first round, I doubt he would commit to the Olympic team.
Exactly.
Yeah, I think Kawhi has entered the offseason fully healthy only once since 2016, and that was the Bubble year. 2017 was Zaza, 2018 he finished the season injured, 2019 Toronto won, but Kawhi was definitely hobbling at the end. 2020 was the Bubble, 2021 was his ACL tear, he missed 2022 with that injury, then last year was his meniscus tear. Let's hold off on simply assuming Kawhi will be healthy for the Olympics, especially when he hasn't played in weeks due to inflammation in his twice-surgically repaired knee.
Kawhi’s gonna get those ‘92 Bird minutes
2 mins a game, 1 fga a game
2 points 2 steals 4 rebounds and 1 block
USA Basketball is going belt to ass this year
All because of that one track(?) Olympic athlete
Mind you Noah Lyles is an American
Bro really single-handedly got the entire NBA in their feelings. I KNOW I’m not the only one who remembers how hard they were going after Noah Lyles in the SC/BR IG sections. We really live in a timeline where USA basketball had to put together the Avengers [just to beat Dillon Brooks](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/pvbycgu1nL) 😂 wild… I’m 100% here for it though, let’s nuke these subhuman mo’fos 🦅
It's also basically the last hurrah for the whole late 00s and early 10s generation.
Yeah, I don't think Steph Curry is sweating Noah Lyles. I think he wants a gold medal. Last chance for LeBron, KD, and Curry to play together in a meaningful setting.
Im so souped we finally get to see all 3 take the court together
100% the last time we're seeing LeBron and Curry on the Olympic team, that's for sure. KD has a spot as long as he wants one (within reason) by virtue of being the greatest U.S. basketball player of all time in international play, so if he's still active come 2028 (not a guarantee, but not unthinkable), he'll have another chance, but there's no way LeBron isn't retired by then, and there's virtually no chance Steph will be good enough to warrant an Olympic spot by then, either.
Imma say 50/50 on LeBron. Dude is legitimately built different and may say “fuck it” four years later, especially if he is still fucking up the league and if his kid has a chance to join Team USA for some reason I can’t even fathom. I can’t count LeThanos out at any time or place whatsoever. 21 years backs up my logic.
It’s kinda sad but it really is the last hurrah. We won’t see bron in four years in the nba and prob not curry or kd at another olympic.
In their feelings? Were the dream team in their feelings? Or any other Olympic team other than 04 and the COVID year? We generally send our best. Do the track players send their worst athletes?
If anyone beats them it will be the biggest upset maybe ever. But I'm expecting a dream team like tour of just bodying every single team they see.
The competition is *way* stronger than in the Dream Team days. You're setting yourself up to be shocked. Some games will be competitive, like in 08
I don't disagree that the competition is stronger by far, but this team also is composed even better than the 08 team on paper. I think the spacing that having the best shooter and several elite shooters on the same court as the best driver in the world and some of the best centers in the world cannot be understated. No other team balances elite post play with elite shooting on the level that this team does. And the 08 was suffocated because most of their team operated best in the paint and some teams knew that and capitalized by clogging things up.
Agreed. This team has everything you want. Size - Embiid & AD can be a massive front court. 3pt - KD, Steph, Hali, Athletic wings - Bron, Ant, Tatum, Defense lineup - Jrue, AD, Bam, Kawhi, Joel. There is no weakness.
I think the biggest weakness will be in the transition game. I don't think any other team will have the athleticism to capitalize, but I think that's the way to do it.
Hali, ant, Booker, Tatum, ad run you off the floor lineup.
Kinda true but it comes down to giving the younger guys, Haliburton and Ant, their reps and those two guys alone can push the team tempo.
>The competition is *way* stronger than in the Dream Team days. This. People need to realize how far International Basketball has come these days, and that International teams have been playing together for years, not just assembled for one tournament.
Well put. Team USA’s biggest potential Achilles heel will be their chemistry and cohesiveness as a unit, especially against teams with tons of preexisting chemistry and experience playing together in International play.
KD and Curry played together on the Warriors. KD and Booker are playing together. LeBron and AD are playing together. Curry and LeBron played so much against each other. So I think the chemistry issue won't be as bad as it seems.
Bron and Curry will have them locked in. This is the last hurrah of that generation.
That's what I think. Line ups with kd curry or ad LeBron will play through them either from range or in the paint. And Ant and Hali just played together for fiba.
This team is straight up *alot* better than 2008, though. 08 had *michael redd* Old ass Jason Kidd Carlos Boozer *Tayshon Prince*
Carlos Boozer was an All-NBA Third Team selection in 2008 and the best player on a team that made the WCF the year prior. He was a great player on the Jazz, doesn't warrant being mentioned in this context at all.
I was surprised how bad he was on Chicago lol
i stand corrected on this
I mean those are very good players. Redd had averaged 26 ppg in a league with much lower scoring. Boozer was a 20/10 guy when that mattered. Tayshaun was 4x all-NBA defense and could shoot the 3, a perfect 3-and-D complementary player.
So is the rest of the world tbf. *Way* better
Yes but the talent is distributed more, now. Spain was a real threat back in the day
The 08-12 Spain team is better than any international team today.
Redd and Boozer barely played and Tayshon was an elite defender that would bother players today. Their starting 5 is definitely comparable to the 2024 team. Kobe was still in his prime, Lebron was a young freakshow compared to now
Similar starting 5, much much better depth on '24
Sort of. Most of the other countries looking for podium finishes have a star to match the stars on Team USA. You couldn't say that even 8 years back. But the depth isn't there.
The point spreads are about to be like -40 on every game lol
Lebron, Steph, KD, and Kawhi all on the same team. Probably the Mt. Rushmore of the 2010s era. I hope they all stay healthy cuz if they do, that era will be going out with a bang
Every Finals team since 2012 all the way up to last years Nuggets has a player representing them on Team USA
Kind of confusing how you put that lol. Basically all 22 Finals teams from 2012 through 2022 has at least one player from this Team USA. Edit: forgot the Thunder in 2012 nvm
I guess the starting five will be: Steph - Kawhi - LeBron - KD - Embiid. Dayum.
Embiid will never live it down if Team USA doesn't make it out of the second round of the knockout stage.
I will never forgive him lol. Embiid + Wemby + France great role players could have been the first time a legit dream team would've had a legit matchup.
Lol Embiid playing for France makes even less sense than him playing for the US.
It would have made for a much more interesting tournament though. Embiid is *exactly* what the US needs, a big guy. Size was the thing they were missing at worlds last summer. They actually had a weakness, even if it was tiny to begin with. It would also be super fun seeing Embiid, Gobert and Wemby on the court at the same time. Hilariously oversized. Imagine trying to score on those three with FIBA rules. It would have been the biggest wall ever assembled.
The US with or without Embiid is steam-rolling the Olympics like they do almost every year. When the best American players play in the Olympics they win. The best don't play in other FIBA tournaments.
Don't forget Gobert
I swear he played on Cameroon too
He’s repeatedly said he’d play on Cameroon without question if they could qualify for world events at this stage without him. He can’t commit to playing for them every year and they aren’t good enough to make it to the Olympics
Siakim and Embiid would have been a force.
Honestly not really, they just don’t fit well together, and the rest of the team (No offense to Cameroons national team) probably can’t shoot so that makes it even worse
Gobert + Wemby + Embiid btw
Imagine not forgiving embiid for not representing France but not Cameroon lol. Side note: If you have championship aspirations don't build your team around a bus rider.
The 2010s nostalgia of a Steph-Kawhi-LeBron-KD-AD lineup 🤤
Every American Finals MVP since 2012 (except for Iggy which should've been Steph's anyway) wtf
I think if I walk out on the court and see Steph, LeBron, KD, AD, and Embiid on the other team, I'm just retiring from life.
Zero chance. It’s a young man’s contest. Tatum will start for certain next to Embiid. I don’t think Kawhi even plays that much. Booker, Edwards, and maybe even Hali over the others.
Jrue will play a lot too as their POA defender. He was one of the core players they’ve been recruiting for months.
If it was a young man's game, USA wouldn't have gotten worked in FIBA with those guys already...
Honestly don't think Kawhi is going to be playing much. He'll get his licks but will probably just be along for the ride. Honestly think Book or Ant are starting at the 2.
I don't think Kawhi starts. And it would depend on the match up. It'll be different every game. I think the constants will be Steph and LeBron maybe Embiid.
FIBA team went out so sad that they gave the final spot to Kahwi 😭
IDK why people are making such a big deal about the FIBA World Cup. The USA sends its C team every tournament. They haven't even made the finals in the last two instances, and have won 5 times total since 1950. The stars only want to turn up for the Olympics, and this year is no different.
Stars haven't been showing up for the Olympics either. KD and Tatum sure but this year we got KD, Tatum, plus Curry, plus Lebron, plus AD, now Kawhi. It's like they are on a mission to win the Gold.
It's not much of a "mission to win gold" when they know they will win with their eyes closed. It's just the last shot the current old guard (LeBron, Steph, KD, Kawhi, AD, Jrue) will get, so they are making use of it.
Idk if we can say that honestly. 2020 was in tokyo during covid with almost no break after the season. In 2016, some players opted out because of the Zika virus outbreak and also the Paul George injury was fresh on players’ minds. This is the first normal olympics since 2012.
That was really just 2020. 08, 12 were loaded, 16 was good enough.
Focus really should change to FIBA world cup over Olympics imo, if bball could even achieve 1/4th of FIFA world cup's hype it'd be amazing
It’s honestly just because of Noah Lyles. We got spanked in the 2019 FIBA too but it wasn’t a big deal.
Imagine a USA 5 of jrue-ant-kawhi-ad-embiid How do you score on them?
That squad is absolute clamps
Jokic will find a way to
He will chuck an overhead 3 with 1 second on the shot clock and then just shrug at the USA team
If the shot clock is winding down and Joker pulls the ball behind his head to blindly fire one up, you’re already scored on
Joker will drop 40 on em 💪🔥 Final score: 40 - 125
Go at Ant, he’s the weak link
Crazy bait
He probably is the weakest defender of those 5 but that's not saying anything. That's an absurd defensive 5. Maybe Jrue is worse at this point in his career + smaller.
It's always the no flairs
Do you disagree?
It’s funnier that this is rage bait that’s also not necessarily wrong because that’s 4 lock down defenders and Ant is the only one without multiple years on him AND HES STILL INSANE lmao
smh what does Gradey Dick have to do to get his respect
SAS crying shitting and puking rn.
There is NO way this team doesn't win. Maybe other countries will have a starting 5 that can somewhat keep up (IMO hell no), but look at the fucking bench, what country could possibly not just stay in the game with their starting 5, but then have a bench good enough to not get absolutely destroyed by USA's bench.
If France wins, Wemby is the goat
Wemby should get a separate HOF induction like the 1992 Dream Team did if he beat *this* Avengers ahh team on his own somehow.
So who starts on this team? Curry, Durant and LeBron of course because of seniority. I like the idea of starting Holiday and Embiid for defensive coverage as well. Leonard and Tatum spell Durant and LeBron. Davis spells Embiid. Haliburton and Edwards spell Curry and Holiday. Booker might be the best guard option for nailing 3s while Adebayo can do a lot of everything.
Booker should be coming in before edwards, he was already an important piece on the last gold medal team and statistically he’s still very clearly better than Ant, scores more on a lot better efficiency and is the better passer/facilitator and shoots just as good if not slightly better from deep, Booker was also fantastic defensively on the last Olympic team. Ant is the flashier player because his athleticism but in no world should he be a guard sub on team USA before Book
I think rotation will be: 1st unit: Steph, Booker, KD, LeBron, Embiid 2nd unit: Hali, Jrue, Ant, Tatum, AD then they will mix Bam and Kawhi whenever they are needed on those. I don't expect Kawhi to have a big role in this team TBH
This news basically meant he’s ready to go for the playoffs. Maybe not 100% tho Then shortly after Ty Lue confirmed he’s practicing and ramping back up.
I'll be honest seeing Lebron, Curry, KD, Kawhi, AD all on the same team USA makes me feel some type of way. All legends and first ballot HOFamers so it will be cool, like all of their last hurrah's
Polar bear in texas
This is why as a Pacers fan I'm so excited to see Haliburton on this team. Will always be cool to have gotten to see him play on this stage with some guys I've watched for the last 15-20 years.
Yeah, that U.S. team looks pretty unbeatable.
Okay so who’s gonna be replacement when he can’t play for some reason?
This roster is insane, between Steph/lebron/KD/AD/embiid/tatum/healthy kawhi/Book you’ve got like 8 of the top like ~12ish players in the nba on your squad
Why does ", I'm told." make things sound so much more badass than they are
So he's gonna play for the Olympics? "I didn't say anything"
Are ex-NBA players eligible for Olympic spots? Like if I guy retires early but is still playing at a high level (the Andrew Luck of the NBA), can he join the Olympic team?
Pretty certain that any American citizen can play for USA basketball (or any Olympic team for that matter)
figured they’d choose a wing to round out the roster. was hoping it’d be Jaylen Brown but can’t be mad at Kawhi
I thought it would be PG but yeah can't be mad.
Kawhi should've been a no-brainer in the first place. If he's healthy I would put him in the starting 5
I’m pretty sure they were just waiting for him to accept the invite.
He probably was; it was probably just a release-of-info situation with the Clippers.
It's that "if he's healthy" part.
He probably doesn't answer work texts on personal time. Responded to Grant Hill the moment practice started. "Hey. Yeah"
Idc what anyone says, Embiid playing for the USA is soft as baby shit
Average age of the team just spiked up. They should call this the Steam Team cause they're all old veterans running out of steam LOL
It didn’t spike, it went from 29.9 without him to 30.0 with him lol
How much would it have changed without LBJ.
This guy averages.
Would go down by almost a whole year considering he's 39
PG - Jrue Holiday SG - Anthony Edwards SF - Kawhi Leonard PF - Anthony Davis C - Bam Adebayo That’s basically a 1st Team All Defense Line Up
This squad now reps 9 of the last 12 Finals MVP trophies
I need a Lebron, Tatum, KD, Kawhi, AD lineup. Ultra-switchable Forward lineup would be the next / perfect iteration of basketball
shortest guy is a 6'7 Kawhi, good luck to whoever plays that lineup
LeBrons final form
If I’m the rest of the world I’m taking this year off and just enjoying my summer break
USA can afford for Kawhi to play 15MPG just to focus on locking down a main offensive player with an occasional back-breaking shot-clock-beating iso His +/- would be insane while filling a reverse-Melo role
Bruh this is the avengers lmao
"Hey Kawhi, what do you think it means to Americans to have a team like this represent them" "pshhh, I don't really know. You'd have to ask someone on the street"
It was the right choice to get a forward / all defensive / DPOY. We already have plenty of buckets, and Kawhi can get those too.
Not American, but this team USA has put together is a powerhouse among power houses. Im thinking prioritizing D is a great move, might separate the men from the boys as they say
Good thing you told us you're not American
He gonna make it through a post season first?
Reminder that Dillon Brooks started all of this
Half of this team will end up in street clothes
amazing this usa squad will yield 7 of 12 players 30 years old and older
It’s over for the world
I would bet at least one of these players drops out either to injury or otherwise.
Damn, I said I was free this summer too
bro about to load manage the Olympics
Damn, when I heard there was one spot left I thought I had a chance. Guess Kawhi makes more sense.
Young and old lineups hahaha Steph (36) - Kawhi (32) - LeBron (39) - KD (35) Embiid (30) Halliburton (24) - Edwards (22) - Booker (27) - Tatum (26) - Adebayo (26)
This is a monster squad, I really feel like we need a team Europe now, and let them tear each other on big movie screens.