LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Anthony Edwards deliver in USA’s exhibition sweep heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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LONDON — No more playing games for the 2024 Olympics men’s basketball gold medal favorite in Paris. Now, it’s time for Team USA to play the Games.
The Americans closed out a five-game scrimmage schedule Monday with a 92-88 victory against Germany, ending a somewhat ragged yet unbeaten pre-Olympic tour that took place in three different countries.
They trailed late in the fourth quarter of their last two games, each time needing LeBron James to bail them out at the end with brilliance.
Against Germany, he had a bucket, steal, another bucket and two free throws to help USA seize control in the fourth. When Germany crept within three with 1 minute, 43 seconds left, LeBron dropped a 3-pointer for the silencer just 17 seconds later. He scored Team USA’s last 11 points.
That said plenty about LeBron … but what about this team and its perceived significant advantage over the Olympic field?
Tense games against Australia, South Sudan and Germany (which beat the U.S. last year at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup) could be excused by lineup experiments by coach Steve Kerr, or maybe other countries are simply improving, or both.
“It’s good to have some competition,” James said. “We love that. All of these games have been real because we didn’t have that much time to get better. We’ve only been together for two weeks. We got the opportunity to improve and I think we did over these last few games.”
The truth will be revealed soon enough in Paris against international teams that have been together for years, while Team USA, despite an obvious richness in talent, is a work in progress.
“We can get a lot better,” Kerr said. “We’re getting to a place where we’re comfortable with rotations, but we can do a lot of things better. We can tighten up our game. That’s the plan.”
The plan is to flex that talent to overwhelm other countries no matter how long they’ve been together as a unit. That has been the USA’s recipe for success ever since 1992 when professionals crashed the Olympic party, save for 2004.
“We all have different strengths and different weaknesses,” said Stephen Curry, “but overall, we’re very experienced and know what it takes to play basketball at a high level.”
Here’s a status report on Team USA as it approaches the Olympic tip-off Sunday against Serbia, explaining what’s so great, what’s so-so, and what’s up with Joel Embiid.
1. LeBron James is shaping up to be ‘Him’
Ever since Olympic men’s basketball turned to the professionals, someone on the starry roster elevated above everyone else: Charles Barkley on the Dream Team, Kobe Bryant on the Redeem Team, Kevin Durant in 2021, etc.
The dynamics are fascinating to behold, how great players yield to one in particular. And that’s happening right now on this team with James.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Kerr said. “I’m just blown away by his effort, concentration on every single drill. He talks, even at a walk-through his voice, yelling out a play, the scheme, his leadership by example. It’s incredible. I’ve known that, but to see it up close is pretty special.”
James’ preparation and attacking mentality during the warm-up games show a player who once again is age-defying and intends to treat the Olympics with NBA Finals-like focus. The final play against South Sudan to save Team USA from embarrassment was drawn up for him, and that was by design.
“When we had struggles,” said Jrue Holiday, “LeBron took the lead.”
There was always universal respect for James among his peers, and even more now at age 39. The world is about to see that, not only on the court but on Friday when he serves as the Team USA’s male flagbearer.
2. Still waiting on Durant
He’s only practiced twice since leaving Las Vegas and was a scratch for the tune-up games. By comparison, Kawhi Leonard has broken more of a sweat than Durant since camp began.
The difference is, Durant is still around and should eventually play in Paris.
His sore calf is described as minor and Durant abruptly dismissed any notion of it being similar to the 2019 injury that preceded an Achilles rupture.
And he never gave much thought of bailing on Team USA because of it.
“There’s always those concerns,” Durant said, “but I’ve seen progress every day. My thing is to keep grinding and see what happens.”
Assuming good health is forthcoming, Durant will likely make his way into the starting lineup at some point — those were the vibes given at camp and even during the exhibitions.
“I feel like I’m a versatile player that can be put in any position,” he said.
Nobody’s expressing any talent concerns about the leading scorer in Olympic men’s basketball history.
“He’ll give us more firepower, more leadership,” James said. “We’re looking forward to his return. We’re strong already, he’ll make us stronger.”
3. The dynamic duo isn’t LeBron and Steph
At least not yet. Until then, it’s Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis (B.A.A.D by their initials), a pair of defensive-minded bigs designed to change the tempo by coming off the bench.
A case can be made to start either center, especially Davis. But their chemistry and connection were pure during the exhibition games, so much so that Kerr sees value in keeping them intact.
Their rim protection and Adebayo’s ability to stretch his defense to the perimeter should make life complicated for threats coming from France (Victor Wembanyama), Serbia (Nikola Jokic) and other countries with big men who bring outside shooting.
One or both Americans will likely be on the floor late in games. It all depends on the matchup and the scoreboard, and maybe because that’s the safest avenue, given the alternative of using Embiid. Speaking of which …
4. Embiid needs a jump start
After training camp in Las Vegas and a few exhibition games, Embiid made a comment in jest about the big names around him that came off rather clumsy:
“On this team, I don’t have to do nothing, just chill.”
There’s a ring of truth to that, given the talent and depth. But he wasn’t put on the squad to be a bystander. The U.S. needs Embiid against France and especially Serbia and he looked passive last week in the tune-up against Jokic.
Here are the pre-Olympic issues with Embiid:
- He has been mistake-prone
- He’s a half-court player on a team that would like to get transition buckets
Kerr does believe Embiid will prove helpful in the post. Embiid has been perhaps the most dominant big man in the world in the paint over the last few years.
Embiid finished the exhibition schedule strong, looking sharp at both rims against Germany, with 15 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
“I knew it was going to take a while for everyone to understand each other,” Embiid said. “And I think the last few days we’ve gotten better, I’ve gotten better.”
5. Edwards could be big
In this pass-the-baton transition for USA Basketball, the most qualified young player to snatch it — and increased playing time — is Anthony Edwards. Just as he told you so.
He has been the first option off the bench and often found himself on the floor at the finish. His teammates have looked to him to score, a sign of respect. Most of all, Edwards wants all the smoke.
He said he’s ready for this stage and the stage might find him whenever the Americans need a lift, which might not be too often, but still.
As for the other young first-timers, Tyrese Haliburton and Derrick White project as role players who, unless something drastic happens, can expect the fewest minutes.
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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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