USA emerges as favourite | Sports

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There is a goal and it is always the same for USA Basketball. The only acceptable outcome for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for the USA men’s basketball team is not another gold medal.

The newer gold was the hardest to obtain.

At Tokyo 2020 three years ago, the U.S. trailed Spain by 10 points in the quarterfinals, Australia by 15 in the semifinals and beat France by just five points in the gold-medal game. It was another reminder that winning the international game is no longer automatic for Americans. And, frankly, it’s an idea they’re tired of hearing.

“I hear a lot of people say everybody’s chasing us too, and that keeps us hungry, keeps us motivated,” said U.S. guard Devin Booker. “We have a lot of respect for those guys, but basketball is still there.”

Call it a mission within the United States’ mission in Paris: winning is the goal, but there is also a clear sense that it would be good to remind the rest of the world.

Despite having great players from all over the world, no country can field a team like the USA for these games. The 12-man roster is led by veterans like three-time medalists LeBron James and Kevin Durant and new Olympian Stephen Curry.

“It’s going to be historic for this team for sure, so honestly, I’m happy to be a part of it,” said U.S. guard Anthony Edwards, one of the roster’s Olympians. “I didn’t think about it too much. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

There’s history at stake: Durant could become the first men’s player to win four Olympic gold medals in basketball, James is seeking a fourth Olympic medal, and the Americans are trying to win five straight Olympic titles for the first time since winning the first seven competitions from 1936 to 1968.

The rest of the world is waiting.

Germany is the reigning World Cup champion and won the gold medal last summer in Manila. Serbia, the United States’ first opponent in France, and Canada have also won World Cup medals.

Canada took bronze by beating the Americans. Then there’s France, the host team, the team that lost the gold medal game to the United States at the Tokyo Games 87-82 after beating the Americans earlier in that tournament and now has home-court advantage. Victor Wembanyama leads the way.

“I can’t wait to face them,” Wembanyama said of the Americans.

If that encounter does happen, it will be in the knockout rounds. France is in Group B with Germany, Japan and Brazil. Group A is made up of Australia, Greece, Canada and Spain, which from top to bottom may seem the toughest. Group C includes the United States, Serbia, Puerto Rico and Olympic newcomer South Sudan.

Teams play a free-for-all against others in their group. After those three matches, the top two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams.

“I guess you could say it makes you re-enjoy the purity of the game and what it takes to put together a 12-man roster,” Curry said. “And if everyone brings the right energy, we’re going to get the most out of this experience.”

Group A

Spain is a perennial powerhouse and now boasts a six-time Olympian: Rudy Fernandez, the first men’s basketball player to qualify that many times. Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, Canada has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, and Australia is still feeling some momentum from three summers in Tokyo.

Australia’s medalless run at major international championships finally ended in Tokyo with a bronze medal, and Patty Mills insists the team can aim for more this summer.

“From a talent standpoint in general, you look at our team and most of us in the NBA … we have a lot of young guys with a lot of experience, which we haven’t had before,” Mills said.

Group B

Germany won the World Cup last summer and have much of that team back, but they will have to face France in the group. The winner of their game will likely win the group.

Brazil and Japan will need to spring an upset to secure their place in the group or they may rely on third place to advance behind the favourites in Group B.

“Last summer was a very special experience,” admitted Germany’s Franz Wagner. “Only when we finished did we realise what we had done as a group, not only winning the gold medal, but also the chemistry we had as a team.”

Group C

Nikola Jokic didn’t even play for Serbia when his country won silver at the World Cup last summer, so adding him to the mix makes this team look even tougher on paper. Puerto Rico won a qualifying match earlier this month to enter under Jose Alvarado, and South Sudan qualified based on its World Cup performance a year ago.

“It will definitely be a spectacle,” predicted Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Serbia’s plan is to use the years of familiarity between the two countries as a means of winning against a team full of talent, but which trained together for the first time earlier this month.

“We know they’re going to be a big challenge and they’re going to have a lot of continuity, a lot of players that have played together over the years,” said U.S. coach Steve Kerr. “That’s one of the reasons they’re so good.”