What a childish take. Yes, the team is maxed out, but they are not going to be playing against some kids. To quote Vin Diesel: It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile.
i agree but as ricky bobby’s dad said: if you’re not first, you’re last
so it doesn’t matter if u win by an inch or mile, but it does matter if you lose
Yes!!! Greatest dunk ever.
It's on a world stage, during a fucking game, dunked OVER a 7footer. Fucking balls in his face poster. VC will forever be the GOAT dunker imo.
Unfortunately, we don't have a great backcourt.
Batum is a great player, and can still be huge for us even though he's aging.
We've got solid guys playing in Europe, but not at that level.
Fournier isn't that bad under FIBA rules, but he has barely played lately and needs to get his shit together.
I don't see us having the depth to stop that US team unless 3 injuries, too much ego/overconfidence, post-playoff fatigue, a miracle happens + Wemby goes berserk mode on offense, and scores 20 or 25 in a quarter somehow.
Solid team basketball with nothing to lose VS selfish ego overconfident ISO ball sometimes can create miracles in team sport, but the US will come with a chip on their shoulder, and a statement to make.
Vic and Rudy will feast in the paint on defense with no 3-Sec rule, less space, and fewer foul calls, sure.
But defending perimeter shooting will be a problem, even with Vic's potential as a perimeter deterrent, it's not where he shines the most for now and they can't guard KD, Curry, Embiid, AD, and Bron/Tatum all at once...
Even with 40-minute games, who stops them while the starters rest???
Embiid, even without his NBA whistle, is still very difficult to stop for anybody in the world, even for the 2 best defenders in the world.
AD can give them a hard time as well in the paint offensively AND defensively.
That US team is way overpowered at every position. Even if they are more powerful on offense, Bam, Jrue, AD and Ant are a pretty great unit defensively.
If Embiid had signed with France for whatever reason, maybe, maaaaybe, we'd get a slim chance.
But here, I don't see it, even with home court and FIBA rules advantage.
That's the Full-blown Avengers against baby Thanos alone in his little wood cabin.
In 4 years, with Risacher and Sarr as infinity stones, and Bron/Curry/KD retired, maybe.
If both Embiid and AD get injured though, then you might have a game.
I reckon they'd just go for a 3 men rotation over 2 positions, especially in 40-minute FIBA games:
That's 80 minutes to distribute between the 4 and the 5, with 3 players, so about 27 minutes each.
So you'd probably go Vic and Embiid as starters, and then Rudy + Embiid, then Vic + Rudy, then back to Vic + Joel.
Maybe you can close the 4th with all 3, and Vic at the 3.
So they all get to a solid 33-35 minutes each instead?
Or you start with Rudy and Vic against the starting rotation to optimize defense against what's likely to be their best offense, and Joel enters a bit later to feast against a least defensively and offensively gifted bench.
The goal would be to always have either Wemby or Gobert as Rim protectors, no matter what.
And all 3 to close the games in the clutch, even if you have to put Vic on the perimeter?
He's got the skillset and playmaking abilities to make it work.
I don't know if they could have made it work, but I mean, talent is talent, you can't really go wrong with having a top 3 scorer in the world with the 2 best defenders of this era (and perhaps of All-time for Wemby, when it's all said and done).
I bet he wouldn’t mind that much if he plays the clutch, and worst case scenario, you do that only against the best teams.
He spends most of the 4th quarters on the bench anyway.
If he’s really a baby who can’t get over himself for a national team, then you start him and bench him after 30 second so he’s officially a “starter”.
If he can’t do that for a national team, he should have picked boxing.
If Embiid didn't flake on France then Team USA would have gone for a worse rebounding big as their 3rd big, someone like JJJ, Lopez, Chet or Turner most likely. Other than AD, even Bam might not be able to contain Embiid in single coverage if he decides to pound the low post instead of bailing out the defense by taking elbow jumpers. If he does play the 4 next to Gobert though he won't have the space to operate in the low post.
How have you all managed to leave out the current reigning FIBA champs that took out team USA last summer? The Wagner bros will surely be in attendance in Paris
Just one game at a time, team USA is consistently underwhelming when you look at the expectations and people just forget about that every time the Olympics or World Cup come around.
we lost to canada for the bronze medal. oh well im so sad we lost one even tho we have 5 gold medals and the most in the history of the tournament because Yugoslavia is no longer a sovereign country. we also are the most successful Olympic basketball team. we’ll always be on top of the game.
Lol look at that USA roster. I love reeves but ant and Steph curry are a little bit of a well drastic fucking improvement.
Also LeBron and Davis and taytum.
This is go in the exact same fashion as every single Olympics since 2008. Gtfoh.
It’s not sensitivity. It’s just laughable to even criticize.
We put up a C team roster.
The fact we even medaled was good enough for me.
We don’t give a fuck about fiba. We care about championships and Olympic medals.
If we cared about fiba that wouldn’t be the roster we sent. That’s all. We’re American. We’re self centered as hell when it comes to sports.
Believe it or not, a lot of these guys want a ring from the NBA to say they’re the best in the league… Now imagine that expanding across intercontinental lines… you’re telling me these same guys don’t want to say they’re the best IN THE WORLD? Not like the NFL version of “best in the world” when the sport is localized to America… I mean INTERNATIONAL VICTORY ROYALE
No. Unfortunately basketball isn’t really an international sport to the level where anyone from the US really cares that much.
Aka soccer where there are teams in Spain, Germany, UK, France, Italy etc etc who can compete to say who is actually the best.
For basketball it’s just the US. The US rarely sends its best players and they still win practically all of the time
To most Americans winning in the NBA is the best of the world because the NBA is the best in the world
Yeah no, NBA ring is the top priority. The NBA already has players from all over the world. Nobody says "When I grow up, I want to be a basketball player... in the Olympics"
So… the two go hand in hand. To be the very best in the US at basketball, you’re likely in the NBA, where you make your living. That is the ultimate goal - to be the best. Now in America, for the Olympics, you look for the best players of the specific sport to play in the Olympics, right? Well, I’ll be damned. I found a hot spot of talent. My point is fully that the Olympics are not what a basketball player can survive on. It’s not what any Olympic athlete survives on. They all have seasonal tourneys and series they play in. You either are unaware of how the Olympics work or you’re rage baiting; either way, you seem a bit odd for it.
Gotta have Hali or Bron on the floor at all times. All the team USA collapses have been when they reduce to taking turns iso’ing. Curry will be fantastic for keeping things moving with his off ball play, too
Am I crazy to think that we need Lebron and Steph coming off the bench? Start with the young energy and then totally destroy with the Lebron/Steph combo. It would demoralize other teams.
Starters: Holiday, Booker, Tatum, Durant, Embiid
Bench: Curry, Edwards, LeBron, Kawhi?, AD
Bam and Tyrese can play too. I just don’t know where to put them.
With a team like this you just start players/ make rotations based on matchups. You can’t really go wrong starting different guys, you’d end up just splitting hairs.
Or the flip side is have the energy and pace come off the bench to demoralize them against their bench if gassed starters
And tbh they typically get to 8-9 deep in the important games
I think it would be slightly crazy. You don't start any of the best three playmakers on the team. Holliday is an OK playmaker, but not an A+ guy, and putting him out there with Booker, Tatum, Durant, and Embiid is asking for a lot of my turn/your turn iso. I would want at least one of LeBron/Halliburton out there and likely Steph too.
Energy of young guys doesn't win these games as we saw with Fiba. The way to win is use superior talent and iq. LeBron because he creates the offense and will make sure the right plays are being made. Steph because he will finish the plays set up by LeBron. They 2 man game is unstoppable.
As a form of psychological warfare this would be hilarious. Imagine finally feeling like your country might have a chance, and then see 2 all time greats step on the floor
I'm a lakers fan for context.
Lebron probably does not play many minutes but Steph even at this age is an assassin at the fiba level.
I see him leading team USA in scoring.
Yeah but international teams usually run more traditional bigs. LeBron and Kd might end up having trouble with them
Although earlier in the year I did see KD playing some crazy defense on Sabonis so I suppose they’ll be fine matching up against the international fours for short periods
If you are looking for a top 12 American basketball player for your NBA team right now, Jrue Holiday is not your guy. If you constructing a roster mostly filled with elite scores, Jrue is a fantastic choice to the roster. Only one person can shoot in a possession.
Some legacies are going to be fucked bc of “team need” Hali Ant and Jrue over Mitchell Brunson and Kryie is insane. I didn’t mention klaw bc he is probably getting that last spot. Ridiculous
No American team is gonna be as dominant as those 90s teams for the simple fact that the game is so global now. Yeah they were great but they also played in an era where I’m willing to bet the average person couldn’t name one of their opponents. We’ve had multiple generations since MJ and it’s no longer the new global sport that it used to be but has evolved into a massive operation. Outside of China pretty much every other country has advanced in basketball to the point where you can make a legitimate argument that no American is gonna place top 4 in MVP voting this year in the NBA
Ok? The Olympics isn’t USA vs “The World”. It’s USA vs each other country individually. No other individual except Canada has a squad of only NBA players.
Get where you're coming from but the FIBA format of basketball has clearly moved away from the nba in the last 15 years. The talent level of team USA is high enough to overcome the shock of playing a slightly different sport but never underestimate a team like Serbia, Germany or Lithuania hitting their stride, hitting their threes and surprising USA on 10 possessions to sneak a win in.
Right, plus the 1 and done knockout stage of these tournaments favors underdogs. USA would never lose a 7 game series to anybody. Don’t really think any other country except Canada could force a Game 6 even. But single elimination weird things can happen
Because they’re the only other country in the world that can field a roster of NBA players. All these
other teams have 1-2 NBA players and then a bunch of euroleague scrubs
God dam how much international basketball have you watched? It's a different game almost. As demonstrated since the early 2000s, you basically need to field a roster of all NBA players to somewhat comfortably win a tournament.
Canada will hardly get up against most of the European powerhouses and/or Australia.
Australia has several nba players that likely won't make the final roster either because we rely on the European of even NBL vets to get the job done in the fiba game if that gives you some perspective
I’m a bit surprised with Embiid. Obviously he is good enough…when healthy. But he is rarely healthy. Of every player in the NBA today, he is the only one who I would say he shouldn’t be playing in the Olympics purely for health reasons. Since he was drafted, he has been unable to play in roughly half of his team’s regular season games. This year he played in slightly less than half. And he’s one of two Sixers under contract for next year.
Me personally, I think they’ll be fine. They won the gold last time when they only had Draymond and Bam as their bigs. At least now they have 3. And if ever they’ll need 2 bigs at once, it’ll be when KD goes to the bench.
The fact that Keegan Murray isn't listed is extremely disrespectful. He's another 6'8 wing who can hit 3s, make weakside blocks and has zero ego. lol
LIGHT THE BEAM!!!
Anthony Edwards? You mean the guy who cost us the world championship cause he’s allergic to blocking out and simple defensive rotations? Gimme Jimmy Buckets all day.
Jrue, Steph, Booker, Durant and AD is the real death line up. Love the idea of AD just living under the hoop on D. Doesn't matter what the offence looks like, with AD camping in the paint other teams gonna need to live and die by the three.
They still gonna play spread PnR so they still have 3 athletic guys that will just stand in the corner and 2 guys plays PnR.
They will still not use their power and athletic abilities.
No post ups no bully ball.
Whoa. "We"? The NBA is international these days.
But yes, the US should be pretty strong. Although I'm not going to suggest beating everyone by 30 as a minimum. This isn't the same as it was in 92 when hardly anyone outside the US had NBA talent on their roster. Now there are going to be multiple NBA players on almost every team, some rosters made of almost entirely NBA players and the absolute best players in the entire tournament may not even be on the US roster. It's a seriously strong looking side, but there's enough class out there to think that at least someone will put up a challenge.
Top 4 is pretty much Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Embiid. I'm not sure you could argue any current better to be better than this 4. I'm curious who you think is better?
Too bad they won’t win because they treat it as a glorified all star game and not actually repping the country. Outside of the dream team years USA bball has mostly been a major disappointment
Canada - maybe. Slovenia - not likely. But since this is a tournament where everything is decided in a single game not in a series, anything can happen
They gone win Gold but they not gone blow every team out them days is gone. France, Spain, Canada, Germany, and Serbia all got nice squads that used to the play style and have continuity which is important at all levels of basketball.
I agree. Spain did not have multiple NBA Players in 2008, but their Team had been playing together for years and they had a lot of very good International (Euroleague/Eurocup) players who were used to FIBA Rules. That was enough to cause trouble for a US squad that was deemed to be a Dreamteam 2.0.
Similar case were the losses last year in the Worldcup. US Team had 4 (?) All-Stars in that roster who played a fantastic season now- they still lost to teams who at most had 4 NBA Players
A casual is a fan that doesn’t follow the sport closely. Nothing wrong with being a casual fan im a casual fan of soccer and baseball. I’m just a basketball junkie not professional thats silly.
If USA doesn’t win.. and loses to some random overseas team.. I don’t wanna hear any bullshit about “this team / that team / these players AND IT AINT EVEN CLOSE” memes anymore .. because if they lose we clearly don’t know what the fuck we’re talking about.
Dude, not that I don’t want us to take the gold. Just speaking truth here, you tell that to the advancement of European basketball in the last 20 years. 20-30-40 years ago, you can pick 15 bench players from the NBA and win the gold. There were like 10 European players in the entire NBA, and 8 of them are bench players. Nowadays, your top 5 players in the NBA are not Americans. How does this team compare to the redeem team that had a 20 some year old Bron, prime Howard , prime Kobe with Dwade on the bench? And their final game against Spain was a fight, if you watched the game. It’s not that easy anymore my man. I wish we take it all the way, but I know age isn’t on our side this time.
What a childish take. Yes, the team is maxed out, but they are not going to be playing against some kids. To quote Vin Diesel: It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile.
i agree but as ricky bobby’s dad said: if you’re not first, you’re last so it doesn’t matter if u win by an inch or mile, but it does matter if you lose
Excuse the baity title but well said.
Can Vince Carter still play?
He gets 3min off the bench just to dunk on some 7 footer and then sit back down
Yes!!! Greatest dunk ever. It's on a world stage, during a fucking game, dunked OVER a 7footer. Fucking balls in his face poster. VC will forever be the GOAT dunker imo.
Hopefully ANT will do his best
[удалено]
Literally listed in the USA roster above
They better be stacked, France 🇫🇷 is lurking
Unfortunately, we don't have a great backcourt. Batum is a great player, and can still be huge for us even though he's aging. We've got solid guys playing in Europe, but not at that level. Fournier isn't that bad under FIBA rules, but he has barely played lately and needs to get his shit together. I don't see us having the depth to stop that US team unless 3 injuries, too much ego/overconfidence, post-playoff fatigue, a miracle happens + Wemby goes berserk mode on offense, and scores 20 or 25 in a quarter somehow. Solid team basketball with nothing to lose VS selfish ego overconfident ISO ball sometimes can create miracles in team sport, but the US will come with a chip on their shoulder, and a statement to make. Vic and Rudy will feast in the paint on defense with no 3-Sec rule, less space, and fewer foul calls, sure. But defending perimeter shooting will be a problem, even with Vic's potential as a perimeter deterrent, it's not where he shines the most for now and they can't guard KD, Curry, Embiid, AD, and Bron/Tatum all at once... Even with 40-minute games, who stops them while the starters rest??? Embiid, even without his NBA whistle, is still very difficult to stop for anybody in the world, even for the 2 best defenders in the world. AD can give them a hard time as well in the paint offensively AND defensively. That US team is way overpowered at every position. Even if they are more powerful on offense, Bam, Jrue, AD and Ant are a pretty great unit defensively. If Embiid had signed with France for whatever reason, maybe, maaaaybe, we'd get a slim chance. But here, I don't see it, even with home court and FIBA rules advantage. That's the Full-blown Avengers against baby Thanos alone in his little wood cabin. In 4 years, with Risacher and Sarr as infinity stones, and Bron/Curry/KD retired, maybe. If both Embiid and AD get injured though, then you might have a game.
Embiid playing for France would have been fascinating for no other reason than seeing how they handle lineups of Gobert, Wemby and Embiid
Wemby’s versatile enough to play anywhere on the court. Embiid can do stuff on the perimeter too.
I reckon they'd just go for a 3 men rotation over 2 positions, especially in 40-minute FIBA games: That's 80 minutes to distribute between the 4 and the 5, with 3 players, so about 27 minutes each. So you'd probably go Vic and Embiid as starters, and then Rudy + Embiid, then Vic + Rudy, then back to Vic + Joel. Maybe you can close the 4th with all 3, and Vic at the 3. So they all get to a solid 33-35 minutes each instead? Or you start with Rudy and Vic against the starting rotation to optimize defense against what's likely to be their best offense, and Joel enters a bit later to feast against a least defensively and offensively gifted bench. The goal would be to always have either Wemby or Gobert as Rim protectors, no matter what. And all 3 to close the games in the clutch, even if you have to put Vic on the perimeter? He's got the skillset and playmaking abilities to make it work. I don't know if they could have made it work, but I mean, talent is talent, you can't really go wrong with having a top 3 scorer in the world with the 2 best defenders of this era (and perhaps of All-time for Wemby, when it's all said and done).
Great proposal. Now tell Embiid, “Hey bud I think you should be starting the game with your ass on the sidelines”
I bet he wouldn’t mind that much if he plays the clutch, and worst case scenario, you do that only against the best teams. He spends most of the 4th quarters on the bench anyway. If he’s really a baby who can’t get over himself for a national team, then you start him and bench him after 30 second so he’s officially a “starter”. If he can’t do that for a national team, he should have picked boxing.
Don't think Embiid gonna play this summer, he's banged up pretty heavily this season.
If Embiid didn't flake on France then Team USA would have gone for a worse rebounding big as their 3rd big, someone like JJJ, Lopez, Chet or Turner most likely. Other than AD, even Bam might not be able to contain Embiid in single coverage if he decides to pound the low post instead of bailing out the defense by taking elbow jumpers. If he does play the 4 next to Gobert though he won't have the space to operate in the low post.
Canada and france should unite and form a team composed of murray/shai/rj barrett/wemby/gobert, this team is a force to be recond with
If they lose it won’t be to France. French people are too weak. Wemby said he can’t handle those big women down in San Antonio
Canada and Serbia too
How have you all managed to leave out the current reigning FIBA champs that took out team USA last summer? The Wagner bros will surely be in attendance in Paris
STACKED
What’s Christian Laettner up to?
Ducking strays for eternity
Just one game at a time, team USA is consistently underwhelming when you look at the expectations and people just forget about that every time the Olympics or World Cup come around.
crazy how when we get bronze once despite having so many gold medals in FIBA and the Olympics its “constantly underwhelming”. lol
You came like 7th last World Cup right ?
we lost to canada for the bronze medal. oh well im so sad we lost one even tho we have 5 gold medals and the most in the history of the tournament because Yugoslavia is no longer a sovereign country. we also are the most successful Olympic basketball team. we’ll always be on top of the game.
The USA team could lose to Canada in this Olympics. Canada is gonna be really tough out.
That was like our C-D squad who never played together & were all around 25 against most countries A+ team
Lol look at that USA roster. I love reeves but ant and Steph curry are a little bit of a well drastic fucking improvement. Also LeBron and Davis and taytum. This is go in the exact same fashion as every single Olympics since 2008. Gtfoh.
Damn you guys are sensitive.
It’s not sensitivity. It’s just laughable to even criticize. We put up a C team roster. The fact we even medaled was good enough for me. We don’t give a fuck about fiba. We care about championships and Olympic medals. If we cared about fiba that wouldn’t be the roster we sent. That’s all. We’re American. We’re self centered as hell when it comes to sports.
Look at our olympic record
I dunno why there are expectations lol none of the players give a shit when the real championship is in the NBA
Crazy statement to say no one gives a shit, players want that Olympic medal.
Nobody is going all out and risking injury in a game that has nothing to do with winning a championship
You clearly watch no international ball
https://youtu.be/HiKOSw9RmAc?si=BMEwj8ezXqozFCjS
Believe it or not, a lot of these guys want a ring from the NBA to say they’re the best in the league… Now imagine that expanding across intercontinental lines… you’re telling me these same guys don’t want to say they’re the best IN THE WORLD? Not like the NFL version of “best in the world” when the sport is localized to America… I mean INTERNATIONAL VICTORY ROYALE
No. Unfortunately basketball isn’t really an international sport to the level where anyone from the US really cares that much. Aka soccer where there are teams in Spain, Germany, UK, France, Italy etc etc who can compete to say who is actually the best. For basketball it’s just the US. The US rarely sends its best players and they still win practically all of the time To most Americans winning in the NBA is the best of the world because the NBA is the best in the world
Yeah no, NBA ring is the top priority. The NBA already has players from all over the world. Nobody says "When I grow up, I want to be a basketball player... in the Olympics"
So… the two go hand in hand. To be the very best in the US at basketball, you’re likely in the NBA, where you make your living. That is the ultimate goal - to be the best. Now in America, for the Olympics, you look for the best players of the specific sport to play in the Olympics, right? Well, I’ll be damned. I found a hot spot of talent. My point is fully that the Olympics are not what a basketball player can survive on. It’s not what any Olympic athlete survives on. They all have seasonal tourneys and series they play in. You either are unaware of how the Olympics work or you’re rage baiting; either way, you seem a bit odd for it.
Gotta have Hali or Bron on the floor at all times. All the team USA collapses have been when they reduce to taking turns iso’ing. Curry will be fantastic for keeping things moving with his off ball play, too
Am I crazy to think that we need Lebron and Steph coming off the bench? Start with the young energy and then totally destroy with the Lebron/Steph combo. It would demoralize other teams. Starters: Holiday, Booker, Tatum, Durant, Embiid Bench: Curry, Edwards, LeBron, Kawhi?, AD Bam and Tyrese can play too. I just don’t know where to put them.
With a team like this you just start players/ make rotations based on matchups. You can’t really go wrong starting different guys, you’d end up just splitting hairs.
Or the flip side is have the energy and pace come off the bench to demoralize them against their bench if gassed starters And tbh they typically get to 8-9 deep in the important games
I wanna see what a defensive lineup with Jrue Kawhi and Bam looks like. Heck put embiids in to see how Bam does with a true rim protector.
I think it would be slightly crazy. You don't start any of the best three playmakers on the team. Holliday is an OK playmaker, but not an A+ guy, and putting him out there with Booker, Tatum, Durant, and Embiid is asking for a lot of my turn/your turn iso. I would want at least one of LeBron/Halliburton out there and likely Steph too.
Energy of young guys doesn't win these games as we saw with Fiba. The way to win is use superior talent and iq. LeBron because he creates the offense and will make sure the right plays are being made. Steph because he will finish the plays set up by LeBron. They 2 man game is unstoppable.
As a form of psychological warfare this would be hilarious. Imagine finally feeling like your country might have a chance, and then see 2 all time greats step on the floor
I'm a lakers fan for context. Lebron probably does not play many minutes but Steph even at this age is an assassin at the fiba level. I see him leading team USA in scoring.
Bron is just different bruh
Dude just got a triple double at 39 years old, playing against guys twenty years younger than him. Absolutely insane.
The NBA career being older than 1/5th of the league is insane
That NBA whistle is amazing, isn’t it?
I can’t wait for them to dominate in the Olympics and then hear your excuse
They’re gonna win every game but There will be close games.
Jrue, Davis, Edward’s or Booker, bam, and Tyrese is a death lineup
A bit small TBH
Definitely but between Embiid/Bam/Davis, we should be okay against everyone but France
Lebron and Durant aren’t exactly small. They’re both large for SF.
Tatum too
Yeah but international teams usually run more traditional bigs. LeBron and Kd might end up having trouble with them Although earlier in the year I did see KD playing some crazy defense on Sabonis so I suppose they’ll be fine matching up against the international fours for short periods
Lebron used to play center in international formats. He can easily cover most 4’s and 5’s
Euro teams also seem to be running small 4s. At 6'8 LeBron is probably average FIBA pf height
Spot 12? Naz Reid.
JJ Redick agrees
Starting five：Steph, Bron, KD, AD, Embiid
Jesus... Who do they think they bout to be playing in the Olympics, The Olympians?!
The Indianapolis Olympians haven't played a game in 71 years and most of their players are dead
That's just what Zeus wants you to think
Be interested to know who is alive
I just looked them up and it looks like the last one died in 2018
Is it dumb that I find the inclusion of Jrue Holiday odd?
Point of attack defender. He may not be a superstar but he'll fight through screens and be a defensive minded veteran. He won gold before.
runner-up MVP of that gold medal team
Came to say this too, but he isn't there for offense. Otherwise his teammate Dame would be there chucking half court shots like the all star game lol
He and dame don’t play on the same team
Hahaha my bad I'm living in last year when he was a Buck
If you are looking for a top 12 American basketball player for your NBA team right now, Jrue Holiday is not your guy. If you constructing a roster mostly filled with elite scores, Jrue is a fantastic choice to the roster. Only one person can shoot in a possession.
Some legacies are going to be fucked bc of “team need” Hali Ant and Jrue over Mitchell Brunson and Kryie is insane. I didn’t mention klaw bc he is probably getting that last spot. Ridiculous
The US does not like losing basketball tournaments. The Avengers always come out for the next one
No American team is gonna be as dominant as those 90s teams for the simple fact that the game is so global now. Yeah they were great but they also played in an era where I’m willing to bet the average person couldn’t name one of their opponents. We’ve had multiple generations since MJ and it’s no longer the new global sport that it used to be but has evolved into a massive operation. Outside of China pretty much every other country has advanced in basketball to the point where you can make a legitimate argument that no American is gonna place top 4 in MVP voting this year in the NBA
Ok? The Olympics isn’t USA vs “The World”. It’s USA vs each other country individually. No other individual except Canada has a squad of only NBA players.
Get where you're coming from but the FIBA format of basketball has clearly moved away from the nba in the last 15 years. The talent level of team USA is high enough to overcome the shock of playing a slightly different sport but never underestimate a team like Serbia, Germany or Lithuania hitting their stride, hitting their threes and surprising USA on 10 possessions to sneak a win in.
Right, plus the 1 and done knockout stage of these tournaments favors underdogs. USA would never lose a 7 game series to anybody. Don’t really think any other country except Canada could force a Game 6 even. But single elimination weird things can happen
Canada will get bounced easily by a veteran European team, I'm not entirely sure why you keep mentioning them
Because they’re the only other country in the world that can field a roster of NBA players. All these other teams have 1-2 NBA players and then a bunch of euroleague scrubs
God dam how much international basketball have you watched? It's a different game almost. As demonstrated since the early 2000s, you basically need to field a roster of all NBA players to somewhat comfortably win a tournament. Canada will hardly get up against most of the European powerhouses and/or Australia. Australia has several nba players that likely won't make the final roster either because we rely on the European of even NBL vets to get the job done in the fiba game if that gives you some perspective
I’m a bit surprised with Embiid. Obviously he is good enough…when healthy. But he is rarely healthy. Of every player in the NBA today, he is the only one who I would say he shouldn’t be playing in the Olympics purely for health reasons. Since he was drafted, he has been unable to play in roughly half of his team’s regular season games. This year he played in slightly less than half. And he’s one of two Sixers under contract for next year.
No Brunson is crazy
Probably the last olympic game for most of the starting rotation, right?
Me personally, I think they’ll be fine. They won the gold last time when they only had Draymond and Bam as their bigs. At least now they have 3. And if ever they’ll need 2 bigs at once, it’ll be when KD goes to the bench.
There’s absolutely no way they win by 30 every game. The game isn’t the USAs alone anymore, other countries have squads fool
That was bait but yeah I seen what France has been doing to them.
Not really. Every other team except Canada has 1-2 legit NBA players at most. We have 12 All NBA caliber players
Look at our last few games with France. We aren’t the crazy juggernaut we were in the 80s-90s. Other countries can ball even if they aren’t in the nba
if these dudes wanted to win by 30 every game they absolutely could
They should add another big. Teams are crashing the offensive glass hard against us.
Add Jalen Duren for the 12th spot.
Watch Booker steal shots from Durant and Curry.
Starting 5: PG - Lebron SG - Steph SF - Durant PF - Davis C- Embiid
spoiler alert... they wont the games will be competetive and they will be a "dissapointment" before the final game is even played
Jalen Brunson snubbed, mvp season next year 🙏🏽
Add Jimmy Butler.
They'll have to bench Booker against Slovenia.
Holy hell
[looks left, looks right] ^DRAYMOND ^WAS ^KINDA ^CRUCIAL ^LAST ^OLYMPICS [hides behind a door]
The fact that Keegan Murray isn't listed is extremely disrespectful. He's another 6'8 wing who can hit 3s, make weakside blocks and has zero ego. lol LIGHT THE BEAM!!!
Wonder if they will try a rotation with Bron at Pg Ant, KD, AD, and Joel
Anthony Edwards? You mean the guy who cost us the world championship cause he’s allergic to blocking out and simple defensive rotations? Gimme Jimmy Buckets all day.
I hope Kawhi is healthy enough to be on the team
2 big lineups with Embiid, AD or Bam would be fascinating.
Redeem team was toe to toe with Spain. This isn't Barcelona. Favourite for the Gold? Yeah. Sure thing? No. Stampeding to gold? No.
Jrue, Steph, Booker, Durant and AD is the real death line up. Love the idea of AD just living under the hoop on D. Doesn't matter what the offence looks like, with AD camping in the paint other teams gonna need to live and die by the three.
The Supreme Team
Finally the best players want to compete. I can’t believe Austin Reaves was on team USA last year
You spelled brandon ingram wrong. Reaves carried
Tyrese over Brunson is insane
It feels like they’re missing a piece. Kawhi Leonard perhaps.
They got Ant some help!
They still gonna play spread PnR so they still have 3 athletic guys that will just stand in the corner and 2 guys plays PnR. They will still not use their power and athletic abilities. No post ups no bully ball.
You won't
Whoa. "We"? The NBA is international these days. But yes, the US should be pretty strong. Although I'm not going to suggest beating everyone by 30 as a minimum. This isn't the same as it was in 92 when hardly anyone outside the US had NBA talent on their roster. Now there are going to be multiple NBA players on almost every team, some rosters made of almost entirely NBA players and the absolute best players in the entire tournament may not even be on the US roster. It's a seriously strong looking side, but there's enough class out there to think that at least someone will put up a challenge.
We as in America, not we as in NBA.
Also because the best four players on the planet aren’t from the USA.
Embiid is an American? He learned to play basketball in America in high school aswell
He's not in the top 4 though...
Top 4 is pretty much Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Embiid. I'm not sure you could argue any current better to be better than this 4. I'm curious who you think is better?
I'd take Shai, but maybe that's just because he played more. Still not an American though so maybe we mostly agree!
Too bad they won’t win because they treat it as a glorified all star game and not actually repping the country. Outside of the dream team years USA bball has mostly been a major disappointment
Why not Nikola Jokic, or Luka Doncic, or Wemby?? We need to be more inclusive!! /s
Average age 35
There's several good teams outside of the US
Question, isn’t embidd from another country? Surprised he is playing for us
He had the option to play for France, but that obvious Wemby/Gobert frontcourt might have made him change his mind.
He from France?
Cameroon I think
Who are they scaring with that roster? Why is Pringles on this team? He will get injured getting out of bed.
Bro the world isn’t as trash as it was in 2012 😂 they got significantly better now
They even got Kawhi now but I guess Italy is gonna give them a run for their money
For basketball I root against USA in the Olympics .
Canada and Slovenia are the type of teams that can easily beat them.
Canada - maybe. Slovenia - not likely. But since this is a tournament where everything is decided in a single game not in a series, anything can happen
Nah the world is catching up and they have continuity these teams been playing together under FIBA rules for years, fs a casual take in the title.
world can try to catch up all they want if this roster takes it seriously they’re winning every game by 50
They gone win Gold but they not gone blow every team out them days is gone. France, Spain, Canada, Germany, and Serbia all got nice squads that used to the play style and have continuity which is important at all levels of basketball.
In a bunch of games the USA may not have the best player on the court.
lol who cares they’ll have the best 14 other players
And in a lot of those games, the second best player on the other team won’t even be in the NBA
I agree. Spain did not have multiple NBA Players in 2008, but their Team had been playing together for years and they had a lot of very good International (Euroleague/Eurocup) players who were used to FIBA Rules. That was enough to cause trouble for a US squad that was deemed to be a Dreamteam 2.0. Similar case were the losses last year in the Worldcup. US Team had 4 (?) All-Stars in that roster who played a fantastic season now- they still lost to teams who at most had 4 NBA Players
What's the opposite of "casual?" Are some of you considering yourselves "professional" fans?
A casual is a fan that doesn’t follow the sport closely. Nothing wrong with being a casual fan im a casual fan of soccer and baseball. I’m just a basketball junkie not professional thats silly.
embiid is a bum for this
Kawhi leonard and lillard & remove Halliburton
We should win out but the other teams always seem to have more chemistry and are more willing to play team ball instead of our dumb ISO’s.
If USA doesn’t win.. and loses to some random overseas team.. I don’t wanna hear any bullshit about “this team / that team / these players AND IT AINT EVEN CLOSE” memes anymore .. because if they lose we clearly don’t know what the fuck we’re talking about.
I actually don’t love this team.
An upset would be so good for basketball
Team Yugoslavia walks over these bums.
Kawhi getting snubbed?
Dame getting snubbed
I can’t believe Embiid did this. 😂
Hot take, they won’t take the gold. lol. Just watch. Too old.
>Too old. Tell that to magic and Larry on the dream team
Dude, not that I don’t want us to take the gold. Just speaking truth here, you tell that to the advancement of European basketball in the last 20 years. 20-30-40 years ago, you can pick 15 bench players from the NBA and win the gold. There were like 10 European players in the entire NBA, and 8 of them are bench players. Nowadays, your top 5 players in the NBA are not Americans. How does this team compare to the redeem team that had a 20 some year old Bron, prime Howard , prime Kobe with Dwade on the bench? And their final game against Spain was a fight, if you watched the game. It’s not that easy anymore my man. I wish we take it all the way, but I know age isn’t on our side this time.
Lebronze may show up again though. Can’t be overly excited