Everything To Know About USA Men’s Olympic Basketball

Paris, France – The men’s Olympic basketball tournament has started, led off by Canada taking a win over Greece yesterday, July 27th. The competition is sure to be competitive as each and every year more international players propel to superstardom. This list is led off by Slovenian point guard Luke Doncic, Greece power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Serbian center Nikola Jokic, Canadian point guard Shai Gileous-Alexander, and 2023 rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama, the center from France. All of these players are known by every single NBA fan as they each have their own massive accomplishments from championships, to MVPs, and other yearly awards. This pattern certainly isn’t on pace to slow down either as the 1st and 2nd picks of the 2024 NBA draft were both French as well, those players being small forward Zaccharie Risacher and power forward Alex Sarr. There certainly are many more great players that will be competing against team U.S.A. in the Olympics, some even being teammates in the NBA such as center Rudy Gobert of France being on the Timberwolves alongside shooting guard Anthony Edwards.

One name some may notice was left off of that list however, is Cameroonian center and 2022-2023 MVP, Joel Embiid. That however was no mistake as Joel Embiid is competing for the United States of America in this year’s olympics. Embiid is not the first international player who has chosen to compete for team U.S.A. over his own country, as just last year Italian power forward Paolo Banchero chose to play for the United States over Italy in the FIBA (The International Basketball Federation) Basketball World Cup. Embiid’s decision to compete in favor of the U.S.A. has brought some controversy, but that has not tempted Joel to shy away from his decision.

As for the rest of the United States’ roster, the 12 man roster is inflated with mostly guards being Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards, Suns’ Devin Booker, Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, Celtics’ Jrue Holiday, and Celetics’ Derrick White. Stephen Curry is participating in his first olympics game, which comes as a shock to many fans that he hasn’t before, being one of the best players in the league for over a decade. At forward, team U.S.A. has Lakers’ LeBron James, Suns’ Kevin Durant, and Celtics’ Jayson Tatum. Every single one of them being an NBA champion, the depth chart as the position is certainly star studded. Finally, at center America has 76ers’ Joel Embiid as mentioned previously, Lakers’ Anthony Davis, and Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo. 

Los Angeles Clippers’ forward Kawhi Leonard was originally on the Olympics roster, but is no longer participating due to a lingering knee injury. Derrick White was his replacement on the team which came as somewhat of a surprise to fans who believe there were better candidates available than White. In spite of this, many fans are referring to this United States roster as the best team they’ve had of all time as seemingly every one of the best players the country has to offer has opted into the competition. Many people are pointing towards American track and field star Noah Lyles as the reason so many great players decided to participate in the Olympics this season. This is because Noah Lyles criticized the National Basketball Association for titling the winner of the NBA championship as the world champions, by stating “You know the thing that hurts me the most? Is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have world champion on their head. World champion of what? The United States?” Many American NBA players responded to this statement by Lyles, and fans believe Noah gave American players something to prove in this year’s Olympics. 

Coaching the squad for the United States in the Olympics is no slouch of a group either. Drawn up as the head coach of team U.S.A. is none other than Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors for the past decade. Kerr has led the Warriors and Steph Curry to 4 championships over those 10 years being in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. The team also has three assistant coaches, being head coach of the Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra, head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Tyronn Lue, and head coach of Gonzaga University Mark Few. Kerr and his team have certainly set their eyes on gold as they believe there’s no excuse for why America shouldn’t win, having arguably the best team America has ever seen, as well as winning the gold the past 4 Olympics.

The schedule for the U.S.A. men’s basketball team begins today, July 28th with the first game being against Serbia at 11:15 A.M. Est. Two more games are already set in place for the United States being against South Sudan on July 31st at 3:00 P.M. Est. and against Puerto Rico on August 3rd at 11:15 P.M. Est. On August 6th is the quarterfinals. The winners of the quarterfinals will move on to the semifinal games. The losers of the semifinals will compete in the bronze medal game. These games will all lead up to the gold medal game between the winners of the semifinals, which will take place on August 10th, in which we’ll see who truly are the world champions. Overall the gold and bronze competing teams will play 6 games throughout the span of the 15 day tournament. 

Something important to note for any NBA fans watching the Olympics for the first time is that there are multiple changes of rules, here are some of the most important changes. The Olympic basketball games have quarters that are only 10 minutes long compared to the NBA’s 12 minute quarters. The 3 point line is moved up in the Olympic games to 22.1 feet, which should prove to be an advantage for NBA players who play with a 3 point line at 23.75 feet. In the Olympics the goaltending rule allows for any player on the court to touch the ball after it hits the rim. Alongside this, defensive players are allowed to stand in the paint without worry of a three-second violation in the Olympics. Finally, in the Olympics players can only foul 5 times before being disqualified compared to the 6 allowed in the NBA. 

As it pertains to which players to pay attention to while watching the game, there are a few people I’m certainly keeping an eye on while watching America compete. Anthony Edwards I believe is going to be the powerhouse of team America, he impressed immensely for the United State during the showcase games, and I expect him to keep going with what will go down as legendary performances for the U.S.A. I’m also keeping an eye on Steph Curry at all times, who is competing in the Olympics for the first time in his career. Arguably the best 3 point shooter of all time is certain to have some big moments. Finally, I’m going to be watching Bam Adebayo, who may be slightly disregarded on what is such a dominant U.S.A. roster. Make no mistake though, Bam is one of the best defensive players on the team and has shown great chemistry with teammate Anthony Edwards, whom I believe is going to be the center of the show. 

For any fans at home wondering how to watch the U.S.A. men’s basketball games, every single one of their games will be streamed on Peacock. As it comes to live television, different games will be aired on separate NBC networks from NBC, USA Network, Telemundo, CNBC, and more.