The opening round of the 2024 Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament begins on July 27th, and of course Team USA is the heavy favorite. Led by Olympic legends like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, along with more recent stars like Anthony Edwards and Bam Adebayo, the USA is looking to repeat their gold medal streak at the Olympics, but also to get revenge after missing out on a medal at the FIBA World Cup. Older players like James and Durant will be looking for their final chance after missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, while Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid will be making their first appearances. The USA is still expected to win, but the rest of the world is catching up, and Team USA needs a strong performance in Paris to solidify their place at the top of the basketball world.
Here are the results for the US team as they aim to win the gold medal in Paris.
USA Basketball Men’s Group
The U.S. team is in Group C with Serbia, Puerto Rico and South Sudan.
Serbia is led by perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and also features NBA players Nikola Jovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Aleksej Pokusevski and Vasilije Micic. Of course, Jokic will get all the attention, but the Serbian national team has had its fair share of success in international play, most recently finishing in the top 10 at the 2022 FIBA EuroBasket tournament.
South Sudan may not have the star players of Serbia or the United States, but they have a lot of length and defensive ability. Led by NBA players Bol Bol, Wenyen Gabriel and JT Soh, South Sudan will be a problem on the defensive side of the court. Most people remember Puerto Rico for their 92-73 win over the United States in 2004 when former United States player Joseph McClellan was in charge. Utah Jazz Guard Carlos Arroyo scored 24 points. Puerto Rico returned to the Olympics with a big win over Lithuania in the qualifying round, where New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado scored 23 points. Alvarado and Arroyo were in tears after the win, showing just how much it means to them to be in the Olympics.
USA Men’s Basketball Schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics
The U.S. group match schedule is as follows:
- USA vs. Serbia: July 28, 11:15 a.m. EST/NBC
- US vs. South Sudan: July 30, 3 p.m. ET/NBC
- USA vs. Puerto Rico: August 3, 11:15 a.m. ET/NBC
The U.S. will then advance to the quarterfinals, where their opponent will be determined based on their group wins and losses, and begin on Aug. 6.
