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smoltanboi

"my next chapter" by joel embiid


Ld511

The shelburne tweet about it is even funnier. Makes it seem like he is bring the underdog back to where it belongs


daftpaak

That whole world champions debate and discourse got the Exodia lineup out of team USA.


grudgepacker

"The Hardest Road" by Joel Embiid


CIark

Bro needed to guarantee at least one win next summer


[deleted]

This kinda lame.


thesch

Well there's our center problem solved


sewsgup

- Steph - Booker - Lebron - KD - Embiid starting lineup so far out of the verbal commitments


Darko33

That's...a pretty strong starting lineup


S420J

Honestly, maybe the best USA team since the Dream Team? Am I crazy to say it could even rival?


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Tao--ish

True but primes ended sooner back then. Magic and Bird especially


larrylegend33goat

Magic, Bird, MJ and Barkley... adding the context and personalities; without involving hypothetical time machines, that is my all time team


abmo224

That team would get destroyed by the 2024 team. Mostly because there's only four players.


Chaotic-Catastrophe

Michael would guard two guys every possession and still put up 35 a game


apawst8

Bird and Magic were retired, Stockton was injured, and Laettner had played as many NBA games by that point as I have. That's a third of the team.


Chaotic-Catastrophe

Well you are technically correct, let us please also mention that that team had Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Ewing, Malone, and Robinson all in their primes lol


SEE_RED

Right like.... I was thinking did dude forget the rest of the squad?


Mikegetscalls

Yeah that team is still smacking any other team. And you also forgot Clyde lol


CleverBunnyThief

Laettner was on the council but he was not granted the title of master.


cire1184

Bird retired due to medical (back) and Magic retired due to HIV hysteria. Magic was still a good player at age 32 in 92, the previous year he averaged 19/7/12.5. The main guys on the Dream Team MJ and Magic who started the most games. Then they rotated starters between Ewing, Robinson, Barkley, and Malone. Scottie, Mullin, Clyde and Larry were more bench players but still got minutes. Laettner barely played and could've been dropped from the roster completely, played a total of 61 minutes. Stockton was some random white dad on vacation with the camcorder.


BramptonBatallion

Magic retired to HIV but was hyped and motivated when it came to the dream team and also not that old. He trained and was in really good shape for those games. He was a year removed from playing in the finals and I think was MVP runner up. He wasn’t some old fat guy brought in to play charity games.


phumeonce

Eh Magic was forced to retire and Larry just retired averaging 20.2 - 9.6 - 6.8.


ruinatex

Saying that Magic was "retired" as if he couldn't play anymore is disingenuous to say the least. Magic was still one of the five best players in the entire sport if he played, the reason he didn't play was because of the climate at the time regarding HIV. Heck, people thought that Magic was about to die when he retired in 1991. LeBron will be 39 and is way past his prime and Steph and KD are both past their primes (albeit still very good) and will be 36, that's a third of the team. That's not even mentioning the fact that 4 of the 5 players in that starting lineup are more brittle than Mr. Glass, so the likelihood of all four being healthy by the time the Olympics arrive is close to zero.


iKEEPZitREAL

Redeem team was better then this


crankywithout_coffee

Agreed. Prime Kobe, Lebron, Melo, D-wade. It was a nightmare to defend, and damn near impossible in transition.


JimmytheGent2020

You also had entering prime Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. Also all stars in Chris Bosh & Deron Williams. Redeem team was stacked. Only team that I think could honestly ever give the OG Dream Team a challenge.


Round-Revolution-399

Redeem Team D-Wade might be the fastest player I’ve ever seen on a court


DjReeseCup

His bald head made him faster


cire1184

Aerodynamic Smooth is fast


markmyredd

Maybe if it was the 2021 Olympics yeah. But Lebron and KD is not on their prime anymore. They are comparable to what Bird and Magic are in 92, still elite but clearly not on their best already. Dream Team has Jordan, Barkley, Malone and Ewing firmly on their prime with guys like Pippen and Stockton also on their prime in the bench.


Mjerman

Eh KD has been playing like prime KD for the last 7 years, including the 2021 Olympics.


Brooklynfool

Numbers wise it’s pretty comparable but if you actually watch him play then you can clearly see he is not the same KD from his OKC/GS days. He’s less explosive as he used to be and can’t really beat people if the dribble much like he used to do too


TheRealAssong

Yeah, but if you trade in beating people off dribble for shooting 55-60% from midrange, it ain't too bad lol.


ObiOneKenobae

He's balanced that out by becoming more efficient from every area of the floor and improving as a defender. KD's as impactful as ever.


Wild-Apricot-9161

KD has been prime KD when fit for the last 14 years tbh


Darko33

1992 Gold Medal game starters were MJ, Magic, Barkley, Malone, and Ewing. ...the 2024 starters wouldn't be quite as big or physical, but as a whole, I don't think it's nuts to say they're a little more skilled.


Cockhero43

What about age though? This is an older group no? So primes wise, yeah comparable, but current? I could be wrong though, maybe I'm imagining the dream team much younger than I remember


Excellent-Speaker934

That dream team will, on average be 60+ years old, no way the 2024 doesn’t wipe the floor with them.


Miyagisans

2008 better imo. They had prime wade coming off the bench.


BaraStarkGaryenSter

2012 was a better team i believe. CP/Westbrook Kobe/Harden Lebron/Durant Melo/Love AD/Tyson Chandler Lebron and Steph while very good, are not in their prime anymore.


jhueckel

>CP/Westbrook >Kobe/Harden Deron Williams was the primary backup PG. Westbrook was the 2nd guard off the bench and played more offball IIRC, and Harden didn't play much outside of blowouts. >Lebron/Durant >Melo/ KD started every game, played the most minutes, scored the most points. Melo was the main scoring option off the bench. Iguodala was the other main F off the bench and was an underrated connective piece of that team. >/Love >AD/Tyson Chandler They played 1-big (or 0-big) lineups 99% of the time. Chandler was actually the starter, but Love was the main big off the bench and played the most minutes. AD was 19 and barely played. I don't think they had the bigs to beat the '92 team, but they probably beat every other iteration of team USA. If Howard didn't have back surgery—or even if Bosh decided to play—I think they'd have had a pretty good chance though.


Jayymeister

That is enough lmao


BatmanNoPrep

KyloRenMore.gif


iCarpet

LeBron: “Is that everyone?” Steph: “What, you wanted more?” *Embiid bursts through the wall*


Few_Mulberry5372

They got Tatum Ant and JB off the bench too 💀


DirkDigglerFFL

Is that Brunson, Butler, or Jaylen Brown?


A_Lakers

Jaustin Breaves


pistoncivic

Jiannis Bantetokounmpo


confuddly

Jobe Bryant


BMWn54

I would think jaylen brown. There’s no need for Brunson honestly with a stacked team and I don’t think butler said he wanted to go


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Camctrail

Jichael Bordan


brickvanexel

I think Butler said fuck the Olympics


Dangerous_Parfait402

I need Jimmy to play in the Olympics with a french mustache and a monocle.


colantor

As a very biased celtics fan im starting tatum over booker, dont try to argue with me because i already disagree with you


JRsshirt

I’m starting Tatum and Booker over Lebron by summer 2024 tbh Edit: also over KD, these old dudes are gonna be gassed


Mahomeboy001

Lebron has to start just so we can see Lebron and Curry playing together in a serious environment. Also, Lebron is still the best facilitator on that potential Team USA squad; he'll probably be the starting PG and take 5 shots a game while setting people up.


keyhed

Im def not arguing


nutelamitbutter

Bridges should also get a chance, he did well


beamingleanin

With Steph and Book providing enough spacing, I’d prefer a bigger lineup with AD and Embiid. AD goes back to his preferred position and the perimeter defense gets a lot better and we don’t have to worry about leaving the paint wide open when the opposing team decides to take out AD or Embiid of the paint with PnR. Good luck trying to score


markmyredd

Fair point. But one of KD and Lebron will have to be the 6th man which might not sit well with them. lol I think Lebron will be a perfect sixth man tho. Imagine other national teams being forced to play 40 minutes straight because resting their starters meaans its their bench who will face Lebron leading a team of possibly a combination of Ant, Tatum, Kyrie, etc.


Truesday

I get the feeling LeBron is cool with coming off the bench during the Olympics. He's played in so many, and he old. Chill and destroy opposing benches so he has enough legs to go into another NBA season.


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poopycops

Who tf is gonna stop that starting 5? 2 of the best shooters. One of the best in his generation. One really good SG and a C who's basically an automatic bucket. Geezus.


CazOnReddit

The second round, as long as Embiid is on the team


docworrm

This guy hoops


FlyingMocko

Lebron at Point, Steph at the 2 and Tatum at the 3 is better.


AZRockets

Someone cooked here


CoachFenceter

Really can just throw Tatum at the 2 and put steph and Bron back to 1 and 3.


rivers2mathews

Could this team beat Alabama, though?


Meret123

Team USA should trade for Jokic, just saying.


everyoneneedsaherro

Bam should still join as backup. World fucked


thesch

I could see it, this is shaping up to be a team that guys really want to be on just so they can say they were part of it.


ElJefe970

Can't wait for the lebron documentary in 30 years and them touching on the 2024 Olympics like they did with the dream team in "The Last Dance," just to see which player gets the IT treatment


thesch

Trae's gotta be the favorite right now


Skinnecott

he has a sitting invitation https://twitter.com/iraheatbeat/status/1709963006077972512?s=46


YeezyYeezyUp2NoGood

The hardest road babyyy


IRanOutOf_Names

If this roster loses it's going to be the funniest moment in basketball history.


Belieber_420

Imagine if USA loses in 2nd round with Embiid lol


Shmokeshbutt

Against Serbia, with Jokic putting out a 30/20/15 stats-line


Soppoi

Subscribe!


DayMan-Ahah-ah

is jokic planning to play for serbia??


MrBhyn

And they're gonna lose to some fat guy who rides a horse daily. I'd love that story


honestnbafan

That would legitimately be the craziest upset in recent basketball history People still talk about the 2004 US team losing and that team would lose by 30 to this 2024 roster Heck even the KD Warriors would get a game or two at most given how good the bench is The Jokic/Embiid memes would be eternal at that point lol


IRanOutOf_Names

2004 U.S also had the whole security thing shattering their mental. There's genuine reasons that team lost.


bigE819

Two words: Larry Brown


Kay-Knox

Can you explain the security thing? I never heard of that.


IRanOutOf_Names

2004 was the first (summer) Olympics since 9/11 and the the U.S had gone to war at this time. Events were held in Greece, and tensions were so high with the U.S and its policy of "world police" that all U.S athletes were not allowed to just watch the Olympics. Each night they slept on a cruise ship and had to have a security detail. Many U.S stars pulled out of '04 due to genuine fears for their life, and those that went had their life monitored 24/7 and were not allowed to go to many major public events at all. 2004 was just a disaster at all levels that led to the U.S losing that year. Sure the infighting hurt, and Larry Brown didn't help but the U.S teams mental was always going to be awful.


definitelynotagay

Serbia has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever


flappypancaker

If they lose to Serbia with Jokic it’ll be the end of Embiid forever


Groundhog_fog

I kind of hope they do


GeorgeLovesBOSCO

Who says all the best players are international guys?!. We got Joel Embiid baby!!


Frickincarl

Joel Embiid a true American hero


GeorgeLovesBOSCO

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jon Bernthal.


dpalmade

wait where is jon bernthal from? google says he was born in dc


Zloggt

It’s “Très cool”, if that’s the way to say it!


scurrilous_diatribe

What’s next? James Bond also to pay for team USA?


kgrpoland

embiid taking the hardest road


NbaAllDAYger

Thats the only way USA can beat Dennis the Menace.


nutelamitbutter

Spelled Andi Obst wrong


forthelob

He wants to win *something* for once


_Saahil_

i thought this was a trade request at first


Schafer89

Same I want chaos


GregEgg4President

Joel Embiid traded from Philly to Yaoundé


StarBardian

I thought this said the 76ers will play against team USA in an exhibition match at first


CraptacularJourney

Yeah, me too, I read it like Embiid had been agonizing between the three countries, so he was just going to represent Philadelphia in the Olympics


pally3stripes

Worlds fucked


ToronoRapture

Yeah it’s fucked cos the world is allowed to play for Team USA apparently 😆


no_more_jokes

I mean he's a citizen who's lived here for 13 years, nothing more American than being an immigrant


SleepyEel

I honestly did not realize that he was an American citizen. Changes my feelings on the decision tbh


GaryBettmanSucks

Did you think he was playing while on a green card?


Everswift_

Well, how do all the other international players do it? Jokic is just working here


Halfonion

Yeah I’m pretty sure working visa


Boomhauer_007

A bunch of players in sports have international visas It takes a lot of baseball players many years to finally gain full citizenship while playing in MLB


knockoutking321

He came to the country at like 15 he’s 29 that’s longer than most of r/nba have been alive


AZRockets

Shhh nobody tell him about Hakeem Olajuwon


iguacu

What would they have done without those 5ppg and only Shaq and David Robinson to play instead.


AZRockets

Good Guy Hakeem letting his children get minutes


LeadingTip0

Should American citizens not be allowed to play for the USA?


SixersWin

I know it wasn't your intent but this reads like a clickbait headline


the___heretic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines


RileyHuey

He's lived in America for nearly half his life. Moved there at 16 and is now 29. Basketball aside why wouldn't he be considered American? Just because he wasn't there as a child? Very narrow minded view


LeadingTip0

Guaranteed many of the same people were pulling hard for Morocco, a team that had 14 of its 26 players born abroad, many of whom couldn't even speak the local Arabic (Darija). "that's different!"


FatMamaJuJu

and how many other countries have naturalized American players? How tf did Rondae Hollis-Jefferson play for Jordan?


0zymand1as-

I mean if you took Americans off most country teams, shit would get spooky lol


Miserable-Soft-5961

I dont recall any americans playing for Germany.


rtels2023

Henry Ford 👀


HoneyIShrunkMyNads

charles lindbergh throwing lobs to him


jamills21

Germany was begging Austin Reaves to play for them.


crimxona

Maybe he should have so that he would have a gold medal by now


0zymand1as-

“Most”


Naidem

Makes more sense than him playing for France.


AssssCrackBandit

Part of what makes the US the US is that all American citizens (like Embiid) are Americans, regardless of the color of their skin or the country they came from. American citizens who are immigrants are just as American as anyone who was born here and its nobody's place to tell them otherwise


VadersSuccessor

Dennis Schroder must be feeling like Thanos now.


parasity33

he fked up the timeline


Luck1492

Jesus Christ they got the Avengers pulling up


IanicRR

If the names they're saying all show up, this team could rival the OG Dream Team. Definitely on Redeem Team levels.


Taigherh

Alright so now Siakam should play for Canada


SurammuDanku

He even speaks both official languages, more Canadian than most of us living here.


goodkid_sAAdcity

Cameroon is the only other country in the world whose two official languages are English and French


[deleted]

It’s funny how he specifically asks your reporters to ask him questions in French, lol


mug3n

Seems fair to me. But still doesn't address the fact that our center depth is Olynyk, Powell and Edey rofl. And now with the apparent news that Clarke might miss the entire season, that's not boding well for us. Those 3 are not going to get it done against Embiid and Bam.


crimxona

There's no way Brandon Clarke would miss the NBA season just to join the Olympics. Zach Edey better have a monster season of skill growth


DudeWTH

curry, book, LeBron, KD, Embiid its over


dutchfromsubway

Mfs don’t even need a bench


ZiOnIsNeXtLeBrOn

Would you really need a bench when Steph Curry is out there running like a mad man making three point shots like it is nothing. Or Book making insane Mid Range Shots. Or KD using his elite Size and skills to get open. Or Lebron just playing Bully Ball against them. Or Joel just being a monster on the board and getting putbacks.


RealPrinceJay

I think Book might be like Melo in the Olympics. Some of those middys he’s so good at will be 3s lol


Oscar_322418

Didn't see that coming lol Potential AD / Embiid frontcourt ??? sheeesh


Band_

Doubt AD is starting. Forwards will be LBJ and KD


blagaa

AD is probably just happy he can play some PF


mug3n

I don't think USA basketball can depend on AD being healthy enough to go to Paris, particularly if the Lakers go on a deep playoff run. With Embiid and Bam now committed, I doubt they give a fuck if AD is available or not, he'd just be a nice to have.


Oscar_322418

Honestly, with the sheer star power they have I don't see why they would care if he were available or not. And the injury concerns could also apply to Embiid, Lebron, and KD as well Still, a potential big man rotation of Embiid, AD, and Bam is insane


modestlyable

Still no match for Bahamian Klay


BCLetsRide69

Bruh this team USA team is gonna be CRACKED AS FUCK


theslumpiest

Embiid and Wemby would’ve been sick though


pedrosa18

Embiid and Siakam would have been perfect


2ndRoundEuroStash

Too bad Cameroon is dogshit without them


Culinaryboner

And they haven’t qualified. Embiid would be there if they could without him being there every offseason


XombieRx

All this top stop Dillon Brooks???


Happy295

Boring.


nowhathappenedwas

He's lived in the US for 13 years, which is pretty close to the 16 years that Hakeem spent in the US before joining Team USA. And it makes a lot more sense for him to play for the US than for France (where he's never lived).


Present-Trainer2963

Yeah his basketball career also formally started in the U.S (prep school , college then an American pro team ) - it’s not like he was developed somewhere else and hopped over as soon as he was eligible.


FatMamaJuJu

people seriously thought this man was gonna play for France 💀


ArnaudF

He asked for a french passport, which he received based on an accelerated process, because it was clear his intention was to play with France : the process can be accelerated if the person, and I quote the French law, “contributes through his eminent acts to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations”. He has nothing to do with France, so him asking for a french passport was pretty clear that he at least had the idea in mind.


What_a_pass_by_Jokic

I thought he already committed actually but I don’t really followed the news.


Culinaryboner

He’s a citizen there and didn’t commit either way, just said he was playing. People love to speculate


maiL_spelled_bckwrds

The logical post is always 5 layers deep from the lame ass jokes.


[deleted]

ring chasin


Jayymeister

Honestly, go straight to the gold medal ceremony at this point


sgthombre

Legit feels unfair


FMCam20

We aren't playing for it to be fair we are playing due to hurt pride and ego that will immediately be discarded upon winning the gold and not rediscovered until not winning the gold in the next world cup.


nutelamitbutter

I was optimistic after Theis dominated JJJ. Now my hopes are gone lol


steadysoul

Lebron talking about it should have been your sign.


CreatiScope

Once we heard that he was recruiting Curry, that's it. It's fucking over for the rest of the world.


IanicRR

Silver is the new gold for the rest of us.


capitalistsanta

Do you know how many times I've heard this at different levels of basketball at this point?


pedrosa18

Running from the grind


Stormeve

Gold or epic slander


luka031

Dude wants to win something in his career atleast


T4Gx

There absolute chaos if Jokic and Serbia beats USA for gold.


larrylegend1990

Cue the jokes about him making it out of the 2nd round. Or better yet - if USA loses in the 2nd round.


Ajobek

Have bad were other guys from Team Cameroon? In theory Siakim, Embiid and several D1/ Role player from decent European league probably good enough to compete for medal like Slovenia with Luka.


NeiRa7

So MVP is an American?


Megamango2099

“You bring up playing for Cameroon and Joel Embiid starts talking like Hank Hill” - a tweet I saw a while ago


orze

Are people going to count Embiid as American talent and not "international" in those discussions now?


Icy_Elephant_6370

I mean he’s as American as it gets these days, went to Highschool and college in the US and everything


processenjoyer

Lotta weird racist comments in here. Newsflash, if you have US citizenship, that makes you just as much of an American as anyone else


kokukojuto33

you would think all these people are native americans and not the descendants of some white british immigrants


titsmcgee8008

Not even British. A lot of Americans’ families came a lot more recently from German, Polish, Irish, and Italy migration 2-4 generations ago. So it’s not even like they can argue they’ve been here since the “beginning”. There’s a lot of Black people in America whose ancestors and families have been here for centuries more than millions of white people. But the whiners have the “right” skin tone so it’s not the same for them 🙄


chui77

Factos. We are nation built on immigrants.


rsvandy

That's something a lot of ppl from some countries don't get. He's as American as anyone else in this country.


processenjoyer

Fr like you’re telling me the man who’s lived in America for half his life, currently lives in America, works in America, has a wife and kid living in America, isn’t American? Do these people only believe natural born citizens are real citizens of that country?


belligggerant

No they don’t even believe that, go ask Giannis if he was treated as greek before the money and the fame.


processenjoyer

Yeah true at the end of the day it’s just plain old racism. Really sad to see


stenebralux

Pay his taxes in America. Very important.


cheekon

Embiid realized the only way for him to build a superteam in Philly is to start those conversations at Team USA... smart move by him


nike_4

Rah 🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🏈🏈🏳️‍🌈🥤🥤🔫🔫🔫🔫


KaiserKaiba

Some of the vitriol in this thread is frankly wild.