Many are calling it the best basketball team assembled since the Dream Team dazzled in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. This year’s Team USA team has their sights set on a fifth straight gold medal, but before the games start at the end of the month LeBron James and company are in Abu Dhabi on their second of a three stop world tour as they prepare for Paris at the end of the month.
Star studded squad heading to Paris
After a disappointing showing in the FIBA World Cup last summer, the biggest stars in the country banned together and committed to reminding the world who has the best basketball players in the world. There has been an huge influx of foreign talent that has started to take over the NBA, but the US has always had international competitions to fall back on when they need to demonstrate their dominance.
That hasn’t been in the case in the last few years. The American’s finished 3rd in the World Cup last year, and while they won gold in Tokyo Olympics in 2021, there is a sense that the founders of basketball are starting to lose their strangle hold on the game. LeBron James, Steph Curry and Joel Embiid are intent on changing that narrative in Paris as the US looks for their fifth straight gold and 17th gold overall in the Olympic Games.
Team USA is in a difficult group that features Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico but they are favorites to come out top of the group and favorites to take the gold medal in Paris.
Pre Olympic prep tour
A stacked field of 12 teams await the Americans in Paris, as the rest of the world will be looking to snap their streak of four straight golds. Before the Americans set their sights on France, we will get our first glimpse at the team in the USA Basketball Showcase. Coach Steve Kerr started camp in Las Vegas, where the Americans played their first game of the Showcase against Canada before heading to Abu Dhabi.
Team USA handled a talented Canada side in the first exhibition before struggling against Australia in their first game in Abu Dhabi. Team USA’s game with the Boomers came down to the wire after the Americans almost blew a 20 point second half lead. Tyrese Haliburton had to hit two clutch threes to seal the game, but the Aussies showed that the rest of the world is coming after them in Paris.
They will play Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Wednesday, July 17 at noon ET in the most anticipated match up of this pre-Olympic tour. The final two games of the showcase will be played in London and against South Sudan on July 20th at 3:00 p.m. ET and against Germany on July 22nd at 3:00 p.m. ET. After that they will cross the English Channel for and head to Paris for Group Stage of the Olympics.