Law Murray, NBA beat writer for The Athletic, explains why the second unit for Team USA men’s basketball will overwhelm teams more than the starting lineup as they chase gold in Paris 2024.
LeBron James and Steph Curry are teaming up as Team USA men's basketball chases its fifth straight gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The USA men's basketball team has won seven of eight gold medals since 1992, only winning bronze in 2004. America is the heavy favorite to repeat in Paris behind a very talented roster of many of the NBA's biggest superstars.
Kevin Durant competed in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics so has three gold medals coming into Paris with a chance to set a record with a fourth career gold Olympic medal among men's basketball players. Durant also has the top two records for most points in a single Olympics by an American (with 156 and 155). He has scored a total of 435 career points in Olympics basketball, a men's record.
James hasn't played on an Olympics team since 2012.
When does Team USA men's basketball play?
Group Stage
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- First game in the group stage is Sunday, July 28 at 11:15 a.m. against Nikola Jokic and Serbia. The game will be live on NBC and Peacock, and replayed in the evening on USA.
- Second game in the group stage is Wednesday, July 31 at 2:45 p.m. ET against South Sudan. The game will be live on USA network and Peacock. The game will replay at 1 a.m. Thursday on USA network.
- Third game in the group stage will be on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 11:15 a.m. against Puerto Rico. The game will air live on NBC and Peacock. The game will replay at 6 p.m. on USA network.
The men's basketball quarterfinals will be on Tuesday, Aug. 6 starting at 5 a.m. ET.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock
The men's basketball semifinals will be on Thursday, Aug. 8 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m ET and air on USA network.
The men's basketball bronze medal match will be on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 5 a.m. ET on USA network and replay at 1 p.m. on USA.
The men's basketball gold medal match will air live on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 10. It will replay at 12 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 11 on USA network.
Who is on the USA men's basketball team roster?
This roster is loaded with its players having a combined eight MVP awards and seven Finals MVP awards.
The Team USA men's basketball team is made of a number NBA stars.
- Bam Adebayo (Center from the Miami Heat)
- Devin Booker (Guard from the Phoenix Suns)
- Steph Curry (Guard from the Golden State Warriors)
- Anthony Davis (Forward/Center from the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Kevin Durant (Forward from the Phoenix Suns)
- Anthony Edwards (Guard from the Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Joel Embiid (Center from the Philadelphia 76ers)
- Tyrese Haliburton (Guard from the Indiana Pacers)
- Jrue Holiday (Guard from the Boston Celtics)
- LeBron James (Forward from the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Jayson Tatum (Forward from the Boston Celtics)
- Derrick White (Guard from the Boston Celtics)
Who are the coaches for Team USA men's basketball?
Steve Kerr from the Golden State Warriors is the head coach for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kerr was an assistant coach for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Joining Kerr on his staff are assistant coaches Ty Lue (Clippers head coach), Mark Few (Gonzaga head coach), and Erik Spoelstra (Heat head coach).
Who are the other NBA stars playing in the Olympics for a team other than the USA?
Some of the other NBA stars competing at the Olympics for teams other than the USA include:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder/Team Canada)
- Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves/Team France)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs/Team France)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks/Team Greece)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets/Team Serbia)
What countries qualified for Olympics men's basketball in 2024?
There are 12 teams in the competition:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Japan
- Puerto Rico
- Serbia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- United States
The United States is in a Group for the first round with Puerto Rico, Serbia, and South Sudan.
