The Team USA Basketball Men’s National Team had its final exhibition match before the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday, defeating the German National Team 92-88 in a much closer game than expected.
While Team USA is the heavy favorite to leave Paris with a gold medal in men’s basketball, multiple close victories have now brought concerns about how easy winning a gold medal will really be.
Team USA started its summer off hot, defeating Canada, Australia, and Serbia. Each team featured a plethora of NBA players who could test the Americans before traveling for the Olympics.
However, its two most recent victories have raised concerns. Team USA narrowly defeated South Sudan and Germany by a combined five points, needing heroics from forward Lebron James in both games to secure the wins.
James made a game-winning layup against South Sudan on Saturday with less than 10 seconds remaining to put the USA ahead while also scoring the final 11 points for the Americans in the win against Germany.
Following these two games, many have begun to wonder whether this USA team truly has what it takes to win the gold and become known as one of the most dominant Olympic teams of all time.
Team USA struggled to score during the first half against South Sudan, giving up 100 points in just 40 minutes of action. Olympic play follows FIBA rules, which means 10-minute quarters.
Similarly, the Team USA offense felt disjointed at times against Germany while also struggling on the defensive side of the ball, seemingly getting bailed out due to the Germans being unable to make three-point jump shots.
Although some have questioned whether Team USA has what it takes, guard Stephen Curry said that these exhibitions were good for the group because they have now gone through “every experience.”
“Now it’s obviously a matter of showing up when the lights are bright next week. I think we’re ready. I think we’re prepared. Now we have to perform,” he said, per NBA.com.
Team USA is also set to add forward Kevin Durant at some point during Olympic play. Durant is one of the most elite scorers in the world and can be dropped into any team setting without issue due to his style of play.
Durant missed every single exhibition game to start the summer due to a calf injury he suffered before training camp and is also expected to miss the first game of official Olympic play.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on Monday that Durant is unlikely to begin Olympic play with Team USA until after its first game, though there have been no discussions about a potential replacement since he is expected to make his debut later in the tournament.
While concerns regarding Team USA’s ability to win the gold medal handily are justified due to its struggles during various exhibition games, it remains the heavy favorite to win.
Team USA currently has the shortest odds to win the gold medal of any team listed on DraftKings with the country’s odds set at -500.
The next closest team is Canada, which features more than five NBA players on the roster, at +1100, while France is currently set at +1200 due to the dynamic combination of big men Rudy Gobert and Victory Wembanyama.
Olympic play is set to begin with the group stage on July 28, when the USA will once again face reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
After the game against Serbia, the USA will finish the group stage with matchups against South Sudan on July 31 and Puerto Rico on August 3.