The 1992 U.S. men’s basketball team is often considered one of the best sports teams ever assembled, led by Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. The 2024 Team USA is also stacked with NBA superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. Despite being favorites for gold, the rest of the world is catching up with many international NBA stars competing against Team USA.
France, silver medalists in Tokyo, have a strong team with NBA veterans Rudy Gibert and Evan Fournier, as well as first overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama. Serbia’s Nikola Jokic and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, both NBA MVPs, are also competing at the games. Durant acknowledges that basketball has gone global, with players from around the world becoming huge stars.
Team USA will need to be at the top of their game to win a fifth straight gold medal at the Olympics. They narrowly escaped upsets in exhibition games in London against South Sudan and Germany, showing that gold in Paris is not guaranteed. The competition is fierce, and the rest of the world is determined to challenge the U.S. for basketball supremacy.
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