Team USA landed in Paris and is set for their first match against Serbia on Sunday. The star-studded USA men’s basketball team is full of talent headlined by LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. While the expectations are high, the level of talent overseas has significantly increased.
So, where does the USA Men’s basketball team of the 2024 Paris Olympics rank in comparison to historic teams of the past such as the Dream Team?
On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast, Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay look ahead to the Paris Olympics, give their takeaways from the US’s gamer against Germany, and discuss the comparisons this team is getting to the Dream Team of 1992. Plus, Bob has an idea for the basketball players who didn’t make the team.
“You take somebody like Greece, you got the Freak [Giannis Antetokounmpo] and maybe four guys that know how to play together. That can cause problems,” said Gary Tanguay on how the gap has narrowed in terms of the level of international basketball competition.
No longer is Team USA able to give a sub par effort and cruise past teams. There are NBA stars on virtually every countries team such as Serbia with Nikola Jokic, Canada with SGA, and even Australia with players like Patty Mills and Josh Giddey.
Team USA had a disappointing showcase game against South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, who managed to lose to the United States by just 1-point (101-100) thanks to the late game heroics of LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly made their mark on Team USA leading up to the Olympics, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis being consistently exceptional throughout the first few showcase games.
“Anthony Davis he’s been reliable. He’s gonna have to be out there in the big moments for sure,” said Bob Ryan on the latest episode of the Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast.
Listen to the latest episode of the Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast now!
Timeline:
00:00 – Intro
01:25 – Olympics preview
05:46 – LeBron as flag bearer
09:14 – Game Time
10:21 – Dream Team
11:54 – International competition rise
15:46 – Germany’s strong competition
18:25 – Anthony Davis importance
22:29 – Regular season roles
24:21 – Esoteric sports
26:04 – Cross country skiing
The Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast is presented by:
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