Official 2024 Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Thread

[DAF86]

The USANT is in no danger to not being the most talented team in the world. Even France is going to have multiple non-NBA players on their roster in 2028 and 2032. The US has a giant population and focuses on basketball as one of their main sports. The talent pool is just much deeper than anything other countries can match. Of course, other teams like France may well have the best top players. But the new FIBA rules are going to prevent them from having the consecutive years of summer player Argentina and other national teams used to be able to use to build chemistry. The best players for all national teams are going to be in the NBA and thus locked out of most qualifier tournaments. Team USA more than most can pull guys from the same NBA team to add some instant chemistry. They've done this in 2021 and 2024 so far. As they move from being an All-Star roster to having to build a functional roster, they should be adding elite role-players like White, Holiday and Milddleton. They'll still have plenty of those to choose from.

If the USANT doesn't adapt its team-building and coaching to take advantage of the legs up it will still have, they will probably suffer a string of losses over the next six or eight years. If they do adapt, they'll continue to be a heavy favorite, albeit one with a much smaller margin for error.

The talent gap will keep getting smaller and smaller, though.

I don't think it is crazy to imagine a scenario where France could field a more talented 5 man unit than team US in 4 or 8 years, tbh.

[Chinook]

The talent gap will keep getting smaller and smaller, though.

I don't think it is crazy to imagine a scenario where France could field a more talented 5 man unit than team US in 4 or 8 years, tbh.

I think that's very possible. My point is that the NBA being an American league that hosts almost all of the best players in the world means the USANT might be the team that uses familiarity and strategy to overcome another team's elite talent. It's about them finding the right guys and getting them to buy in to a long-term commitment for represent the USA instead of doing what they've done historically but with non-superstars masquerading as their iconic counterparts. The USA isn't good enough to let guys stroll onto their roster whenever it's fashionable, but they'll be the only team in the world that fields 12 NBA player for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't be surprised to see even France have 8 or fewer in 2028.

[hater]

Great game for Wemby

I'd say his Olympic run was a great success


Just like his 1st season in NBA


Things are looking promising

Sing up the dancing bear and let's go to Wembys season 2

[Ice009]

I would love to see Yabu on the Spurs.

[Arcadian]

That was the most exciting Olympics I've seen, with both the semifinal and final being tightly contested. France kept it within reach throughout.

Wemby showed up today. He was the leading scorer in a game full of NBA all-stars. This should help to elevate his reputation even further.

[Ice009]

I said he would. I believed he would, and he did. There is nothing I saw from him during the Spurs season that didn't make me think anything but him being a big game player. Even if his shot didn't fall, I thought he'd bring it tonight regardless of fatigue or any other physical ailments (he could have been banged up in previous games and not been at his best physically these past few games).

[SpurPadre]

Too bad Risacher and Sarr weren’t selected.

[SpurPadre]

I would love to see Yabu on the Spurs.

It looks like the Celtics still have the rights to him?

[Chinook]

It looks like the Celtics still have the rights to him?

No. He was waived. But he's also a fringe NBA player. He'd be at the end of the rotation if at all.

[KDKSpurs24]

In 4 years USA should still have a really good player pool to choose from obviously. I can see everyone wanting to play/tryout for this one considering it’s in their home country.

GUARDS - Morant, Ant, Booker, Brown, Maxey, Cunningham, Brunson, Haliburton, Fox, Mitc , JGreen, Bane

FORWARDS - Tatum, Banchero, Zion, Flagg, Barnes, JWilliams, KMurray

CENTERS - Chet, Bam, AD, Mobley, JJJ, Turner, Claxton

Pick the RIGHT combination of these players and if they have the mindset and adapts the rules it should be another gold. This isn’t even including some potential players that make a crazy leap that we won’t see coming. , I’m rooting for our Spurs boys Castle and Vassell to make that kind of leap!

[r0drig0lac]

[mikec]

As they move from being an All-Star roster to having to build a functional roster, they should be adding elite role-players like White, Holiday and Milddleton. They'll still have plenty of those to choose from.

If the USANT doesn't adapt its team-building and coaching to take advantage of the legs up it will still have, they will probably suffer a string of losses over the next six or eight years. If they do adapt, they'll continue to be a heavy favorite, albeit one with a much smaller margin for error.

This. Can't bring a team of 12 all stars again. Say we start with a mix of Ja Morant, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero, Haliburton, Jaylen Brown, Chet, ?Cooper Flag. Hope one of AD/Bam/Embiid return. Elite role players to plug in: Josh Hart, Aaron Gordon, Jaden Mcdaniels, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. That's a team favored for gold.

[mikec]

That was the most exciting Olympics I've seen, with both the semifinal and final being tightly contested. France kept it within reach throughout.

Wemby showed up today. He was the leading scorer in a game full of NBA all-stars. This should help to elevate his reputation even further.

Agreed. Spectacular semi finals games and the gold medal game was outstanding.

[Uriel]

Hopefully Wemby takes a month off and is eased into training camp so he can be ready for the season. That tournament must’ve been physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting for him.

[The Truth #6]

Concur about building a team. The flip side is with less stars then they at times back out and the chemistry is weak and you get worst of both worlds: less talent, less chemistry. But building an actual team should still be the goal.

[TD 21]

Off the top, this is the top youngish or young established talent: Young, Brown, Tatum, Ball, Miller, Mitc , Mobley, Cunningham, Smith Jr., Haliburton, Bane, Jackson Jr., Morant, Adebayo, Edwards, Bridges, Brunson, Williamson, Holmgren, Williams, Banchero, Suggs, Maxey, Booker, Fox, Barnes.

Again, unparalleled depth, but no current MVP caliber or one on the horizon. Even if someone like Edwards wins one in the future, I mean more so by "catch-all" metrics.

With what France and Canada in particular have coming to potentially solve their biggest issues, it's not hard to envision a scenario where they're in a "nip and tuck" elimination game and Wembanyama's or Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP caliber impacts wins the day.

[Barfunk]

As for you Spur fans especially the Mags ones I know yall wasn’t rooting against team USA?!
lol

Lmao

[Pauleta14]

Guershon Yabusele should be in the tournament starting 5 (instead of Schröder)

He was the real French MVP

[Pauleta14]

Hopefully Wemby takes a month off and is eased into training camp so he can be ready for the season. That tournament must’ve been physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting for him.

When is the Spurs's training camp starting?

[John B]

In 4 years USA should still have a really good player pool to choose from obviously. I can see everyone wanting to play/tryout for this one considering it’s in their home country.

GUARDS - Morant, Ant, Booker, Brown, Maxey, Cunningham, Brunson, Haliburton, Fox, Mitc , JGreen, Bane

FORWARDS - Tatum, Banchero, Zion, Flagg, Barnes, JWilliams, KMurray

CENTERS - Chet, Bam, AD, Mobley, JJJ, Turner, Claxton

Pick the RIGHT combination of these players and if they have the mindset and adapts the rules it should be another gold. This isn’t even including some potential players that make a crazy leap that we won’t see coming. , I’m rooting for our Spurs boys Castle and Vassell to make that kind of leap!

In 4 years, LeBron, Durant and Curry will no longer. The last two Olympic golds were thanks to KD and, this year, Curry’s heroics. Plus more and more international players are getting much better. The last 3 MVP’s are international and not counting Doncic and Wemby. It’s going to be tough. But 2028 playing in front of a home crowd would help.

[scott]

Personally I think Team USA should just send the defending NBA Champs, with them filling in any international players with whomever they want. I wonder how the Celtics + one of Embiid/AD/Bam filling in for Dingas would fare.

[KDKSpurs24]

Personally I think Team USA should just send the defending NBA Champs, with them filling in any international players with whomever they want. I wonder how the Celtics + one of Embiid/AD/Bam filling in for Dingas would fare.

I personally prefer a mix of players BUT for your last sentence, Celtics with AD instead of Porzingis would definitely win gold. Im already a believer that the Celtics would have beaten any team in the Olympics. Why? Not only are they the champs and had a great record, they played over 100 games with each other as well. They’d be far ahead of the other teams when it comes to chemistry.

[Seventyniner]

Personally I think Team USA should just send the defending NBA Champs, with them filling in any international players with whomever they want. I wonder how the Celtics + one of Embiid/AD/Bam filling in for Dingas would fare.

That's fine for the 2024 Celtics, but imagine sending the 2023 Nuggets without Jokic. Even replacing him with the best replacement center (Embiid or Davis) would result in a much different, and likely much worse, team. Similarly with the 2021 Bucks.

[Mr. Body]

Those of you who think the US will be in great shape in four years... the eked things out four years ago at Tokyo. They placed fourth last year at the world cup.

They were getting killed by Serbia in the semi-final before LeBron and others started beasting. If Curry doesn't go HAM this game? It's within a possession or two.

The US needed all-time players to generate close wins. When they're out of Durant, Curry, LeBron, they're going to cough up a gold.

[BackHome]

Nah players will step up and will definitely get Gold in LA.