The U.S. men’s basketball team competing in the 2024 Olympics has no conceivable flaws. The shooting, the intelligence, the championship track record, the balance, the acumen, the athleticism, the size, the speed, the power. The talent is staggering. The versatility is unprecedented. The pedigree is iconic. Put it all together and this team deserves a place in the hallowed discussion of the greatest rosters of all time.
Of course, one loss would be the end of this story, but thus far Team USA has won all three of its exhibition matches, including victories over last year’s NBA MVP (Serbia’s Nikola Jokic) and runner-up (Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), without Kevin Durant, the USA’s all-time leading scorer who has been sidelined since training camp with a calf injury. This is an absolute formidable opponent.
But Team USA still has work to do as they face some of the toughest competition in international basketball history in what will ultimately be a single-elimination tournament. This team has a lot to gain and a lot to lose. Here are some observations and storylines to watch in the coming days and weeks:
Joel Embiid is stumbling
Perhaps the most significant, and somewhat expected, takeaway from Team USA’s training schedule was Embiid’s awkwardness. Suddenly joining a team bound by the FIBA rulebook and not relying on Embiid to run the entire offense, the two-time leading scorer seemed to have learned the wrong way to score. Unlike in the NBA, where his efforts to make unnatural contact are rewarded by nightly stints at the free-throw line, Embiid’s attempts to seduce the officials fell flat.
Suddenly, he was out of place, surrounded by players who didn’t need him to create an advantage and on a team that was virtually unbeatable if everyone was unselfish enough to take open shots. His touches, shooting and minutes will inevitably suffer in this situation, but the more important adjustment for Embiid is to length The touches too, he’s not the type of player who starts plays very often in this team, he’s a finisher.
But Embiid loves having the ball in his hands, and he shoots it better than almost any other NBA player. Philly’s entire playbook is essentially his personal menu. With the U.S. national team, he’s still cramming that wide-ranging skill set into a cage, learning how to limit and simplify his own capabilities for the good of the whole.
Embiid, who started ahead of Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, seemed lost with less responsibility. He fouled out against Canada and his role was reduced in games against Australia and Serbia as coach Steve Kerr checked Davis and Adebayo along with the other four starters for minutes in the second half.
This doesn’t mean Embiid can’t impact a win. His size still matters when he’s defending the rim and cleaning the glass. He can cause big problems in the paint and physically dominate opposing front lines. His occasional touch in the post is still a disruptive change-of-pace tool, as long as it doesn’t interfere with a system that peaks when the ball bounces.
But the 2023 NBA MVP version of Embiid isn’t a perfect fit here. Using him primarily as a pick-and-roll, spot-up option, off-ball screen setter and looming threat around the dunker spot makes more sense. Embiid hasn’t forgotten how to shoot, pass or use his massive size. He’ll figure it out whether he’s in the starting five or coming off the bench.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry
The Americans won against Serbia thanks to a pair of unguardable combinations. On the opening offensive, Curry set up a reverse pick-and-roll to set up a ball screen for James. LeBron charged into the paint, broke the defense, and passed to Embiid for a free three-pointer in the corner. Midway through the second quarter, the longtime rivals again linked up as co-captains, but this time Curry started with the ball. Curry skipped a pocket pass and passed to a rolling James for an and-one. Jayson Tatum was also free in the weak-side corner when LeBron first caught Curry’s pass.
Early in the third quarter, LeBron instructed Curry to set another ball screen, which confused the Serbian defense and opened up a wide driving lane for James to score at the hoop.
Team USA is loaded with stars, but it’s the two oldest players who create the most unstoppable two-man game in the entire tournament. It’s great to watch Curry and James elevate each other. These two are basketball revolutionaries with more than 30 years of combined experience at the NBA level, and they’re still creating problems other teams can’t solve.
The passing. The shooting. The muscle. The way he gave every teammate a weapon and forced opponents into a losing game of whack-a-mole every time they made contact. It was incredible. (He worked Embiid into a stacked pick-and-roll, Curry set a back screen for Embiid man-to-man, and LeBron dribbled at the top of the key, and they cut through the defense like butter.)
The individual impact of Curry and James is second to none. Together, they can make efficient shots without the defense having time to blink. This could be the foundation of the U.S. team’s offense. They’re who Coach Kerr relies on in crunch time. They’re how they step on the gas and build a commanding lead. Curry and LeBron are unstoppable when they’re more than they already are.
Anthony Edwards’s Self-Awareness
Edwards is the youngest player on the U.S. team. His game is electric, daring and, at its peak, adrenaline-fueled. But aside from his eye-popping athleticism and impressive shooting (he led the team in points!), Ant’s inventiveness is what stands out. Edwards can turn an entire defensive strategy into whipped cream, but there are also missteps that are premised on his transcendent talent trying to prove something outside of a team-first dynamic, from frantic 1-on-4 fast breaks to restless rushes that lead to backdoor layups.
Watching the U.S. play, it bothers me how the offense can’t create open opportunities with the shot clock running out, and Edwards seems a little too eager to do things differently. It’s not that he can’t take a contested pull-up two, it’s just that he has a better option most of the time.
On a fourth-quarter play against Serbia, Edwards caught a kickout pass behind the 3-point line and instead of taking an open jump shot, he held onto the ball for a record and let the defense recover before whiffing on a more difficult shot. On another play, he was stopped in transition despite the U.S. having a 3-on-1 advantage.
Edwards, a sticky trap at 6-foot-4, is a threat defensively when he has the ball, but he doesn’t consistently box out or rush in transition. Against Serbia, after a pass to Tyrese Haliburton, he celebrated with both hands after the shot missed instead of dropping back on defense. Serbia scored on the rebound about three seconds later.
He may be the most confident player on the planet. That’s a blessing in Minnesota, but a bitter pill for Team USA, which doesn’t need a star player. He’s good enough to dominate a game, and his athleticism is like no other. But in the Olympics, it’s about sacrifice and humility. His scoring is essential in the Olympics, but when Edwards moves the ball and runs the court, good things happen.
Team USA’s defense is incredible
Team USA’s offense will get all the attention it deserves, but if the team is able to dominate everyone that stands in their way, it will be thanks to a defense that makes it nearly impossible to score from the half court.
Kerr’s decision to bring Davis and Bam off the bench was necessitated by Durant’s injury, but superficial spacing issues aside, it seems like a stroke of genius. As two of the world’s most fearsome anchors, they essentially became the Bash Brothers. How do you attack a versatile, tall, focused group of two centers flying around, blocking shots, switching screens and grabbing rebounds off the glass? Against Australia, they spent time alongside Jrue Holiday, but is that fair?
The weakest defender is Haliburton, who may not be in the rotation even if Durant returns, then the next weakest link could be Curry or Devin Booker, both of whom know how to play against elite defenses, while the rest range from “pretty good” to “that guy who made the All-Defensive Team.”
Team USA’s offense is like an avalanche, but their ability to completely shut off the water takes it to another level.