Basketball (Olympic)

Team USA will learn a lot about itself during Sunday's Olympic opener against France.

The U.S. men had a choppy run during exhibition play, losing consecutive games to Nigeria and Australia. The team's perpetual search for chemistry and cohesion is especially difficult this time around, as injuries and COVID-19 issues have affected the roster, which will finally add the fresh faces of Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker, who were previously tied up with the NBA Finals.

"That's one of the interesting things about international basketball is our team changes every year and the teams we play against stay the same, and that's the big challenge," assistant coach Steve Kerr told reporters.

Speaking of big challenges, Team USA opens with a massive one. France, which features Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier and Frank Ntilikina, knocked off the United States when these teams last tussled at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

"We've been preparing for France for two years," head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "I think about it every day."

Can Team USA reverse some of its recent misfortune and gain momentum in its quest for a fourth straight gold medal? Or will France slay Goliath again?

After laying out the scheduling particulars, let's take a deeper dive into the matchup to find out.

                            

Olympic Men's Basketball

Who: United States vs. France

When: Sunday, July 25 at 8 a.m. ET

Where: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com and Peacock

                      

Preview and Prediction

France can make life difficult for the Americans on both ends of the court.

On offense, Batum and Fournier can keep things humming as capable shot-creators and shot-makers. They may not always be the most consistent scorers, but either one can heat up in a hurry and pile three-point bombs on top of one another.

And they have an elite interior anchor on defense in Gobert, who just captured his third Defensive Player of the Year award this season. They also have the pesky Ntilikina on the perimeter. Either one can be a wet blanket to throw at whichever American scorer catches fire.

This team has talent—just not nearly as much of it as Team USA.

Granted, as per usual, it's a new batch. Just two players are back from the 2016 gold medalists—Kevin Durant and Draymond Green—and even the coaching staff is new, with Popovich replacing Mike Krzyzewski.

But the U.S. talent pool is so rich and deep that it's basically always rostering a bunch of A-listers.

In addition to Durant, Green, Booker, Middleton and Holiday, Team USA features Damian Lillard, Zach LaVine, Bam Adebayo and Jayson Tatum, among others. And that coaching change just meant moving from one legendary skipper to another.

That doesn't mean Team USA can just show up and win, though. The lack of chemistry is a challenge, and if they aren't careful, it's an obstacle that could do them in.

But talent wins out more often than not, and the U.S. has more of it than France by a wide margin. The score may not reflect that throughout the contest, but Team USA should pull away for a relatively comfortable win.

Prediction: Team USA 102, France 90

The men's Olympic basketball tournament in Tokyo is set to tipoff late Saturday night and early Sunday morning stateside.

The U.S. will be in pursuit of its fourth consecutive gold medal after going 2-2 in exhibitions leading up to the Games. It will be tested immediately in a pool-play game against a France team that features several NBA players.

The first day also features Australia, which is considered the biggest threat to Team USA's run for gold. Australia is set to start Olympic play against Nigeria.

Here's a look at the schedule for Day 1, including broadcast information and the latest lines. All games will be streaming on the NBC Sports App or Peacock. A tape delay of the United States game will be shown on NBC in the afternoon and NBC Sports Network in prime time.

                   

Day 1 Olympic Basketball Schedule

Saturday, July 24

Men's: Czech Republic (-17.5) vs. Iran, 9 p.m. ET (NBC Sports App, NBCOlympics.com)

           

Sunday, July 25

Men's: Italy (-5.5) vs. Germany, 12:40 a.m. ET (NBC Sports App, NBCOlympics.com)

Men's: Australia (-8.5) vs. Nigeria, 4:20 a.m. ET (NBC Sports App, NBCOlympics.com)

Men's: USA (-12) vs. France, 8 a.m. ET (Peacock, NBCOlympics.com)

Women's: Spain (-25) vs. South Korea, 9 p.m. ET (NBC Sports App, NBCOlympics.com)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

                     

Day 1 marks the beginning of pool play, with the top two teams in each group of four advancing. Two of the three favorites to win the three groups will be in action. The United States (-2000; wager $2000 to win $100) are the favorites in Group A, while Australia (-190) has the best odds in Group B.

Spain (-125) is the lone favorite not in action.

The United States' matchup with France will be one to watch. The national team will be looking to rebound from a disappointing showing in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, where they did not win a medal. France beat Team USA in the quarterfinals on their way to a bronze medal.

This version of Team USA looks much different. Khris Middleton, who logged 18 minutes, and Jayson Tatum, who got the DNP (coach's decision), are the only holdovers representing the team in Tokyo.

The France team, looks very familiar, though. It will be lead by Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum. All three made key contributions in the World Cup win.

Gregg Popovich's squad has received some reinforcements, with Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker and Middleton heading to Japan straight from the NBA Finals. The head coach isn't sure how he will help them acclimate, telling the Associated Press (h/t NBC Sports):

"I think it's going to be a little bit by the seat of the pants because there's no formula to go by. It depends how the team is doing and the condition of the players here, what we think we need. Our first game is France so we'll look in terms of what fits might work best, but it's not going to be like they're going to come and sit for a week and get ready."

Australia and Nigeria both picked up wins against Team USA in exhibitions leading up to the tournament. However, their exhibition against one another yielded a blowout 108-69 win for the Boomers. The team brings a wealth of international and NBA experience to the stage, with veterans like Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes flanked by young guns like Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle.

The most intriguing game of the day might be the Group B matchup between Italy and Germany. Italy got to the Olympics by upsetting Serbia in qualifying. Now, they add Danilo Gallinari to their ranks.

Germany will be without Dennis Schroeder but went 4-0 in qualifying. This is its first time since Dirk Nowitzki's retirement it has made the Olympic field after finishing 10th in 2008.

On the women's side, it's a relatively quiet day. Spain, which is ranked third in the world by FIBA, will open its Olympic campaign as the big favorite over South Korea in the only action of the day.

                        

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The United States men's basketball team is grouped with Iran, France and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The field for the event was set Sunday after the Czechs downed Greece in their qualifying tournament. Team USA will tip things off July 25, the second day of action in Japan.

Team USA Preliminary Round Schedule

• vs. France on July 25 at 8 a.m. ET

• vs. Iran on July 28 at 12:40 a.m. ET

• vs. Czech Republic on July 31 at 8 a.m. ET

The top two teams in each of the three groups and the two-best third-place finishers move on to the quarterfinals.

At least in the group stage, France figures to be the stiffest competition for Team USA, with Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and Frank Ntilikina representing Les Bleus. The French sit seventh in FIBA's men's ranking.

Anything short of a gold medal will be considered a disappointment for the United States. Since the Dream Team in 1992 signaled the debut of NBA players in the Olympics, Team USA has won gold in six of seven Olympics.

A bronze-medal finish in 2004 was such a disaster it led to major changes at USA Basketball.

As he enters his first Summer Games in charge, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich doesn't have what you'd consider the optimal roster. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Curry are among the most notable absences.

Still, talent shouldn't be an issue for Team USA. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum will headline the squad in Tokyo.

Prior to the Olympics, the team will hold a training camp from July 6-18 in Las Vegas. As part of the camp, the U.S. will compete in five exhibitions, the first of which is July 10 against Nigeria.

Luka Doncic helped Slovenia earn a spot in the Summer Olympics in men's basketball after producing a triple-double in Sunday's qualifying win over Lithuania.

Slovenia secured the 96-85 win in the finals of the six-team qualifying tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania, giving the country its first trip to the Olympics in the sport. Doncic starred with 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in the clinching game.

Luka Doncic and Slovenia have qualified to compete in the Olympics for the first time in the nation's history 👏 pic.twitter.com/5ZxJZ6xD7t

— ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2021

Lithuania featured NBA players like Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas, but the perennial international contender fell short of a trip to Tokyo.

The European squad had competed at the last seven Olympic Games, earning three bronze medals in that stretch.

Sunday's game was a close one early with the two teams tied 52-52 at halftime. Lithuania used a balanced attack offensively as five players reached double figures over the 40-minute battle, although Sabonis was held to just nine in the loss.

The difference came in a third quarter that saw Slovenia outscore its opponent 28-17. Doncic was nearly unstoppable offensively, shooting 13-of-23 from the field while his team finished 13-of-31 (42 percent) from three-point range.

With the Olympic bid, Slovenia builds on its 2017 EuroBasket title as the country becomes a legitimate power behind Doncic.

The Dallas Mavericks guard has already proved himself in the NBA with two All-Star selections and a Rookie of the Year award in his first three seasons. He continues to elevate his game as he looks to lead his home country to greater heights.

The United States likely will be without at least a few of its biggest stars at this summer's Tokyo Olympics. 

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, "neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis is expected to play for Team USA due to their terrible seasons of injuries."

He added that Golden State Warriors MVP finalist Stephen Curry is "50-50" on whether he'll participate, while Damian Lillard is "believed to have strong interest in playing, though no final decision has been made."

Team USA's roster for the upcoming Olympics remains a major question mark, especially after a compressed NBA season due to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in a number of superstars dealing with injuries throughout the season. 

Will players who have battled through injuries this season or postseason like Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul and Kemba Walker, among others, be willing to essentially give up their postseason? (Team USA training camp opens in July.)

How many players might remove themselves if their teams go on deep playoff runs?

A player like Jayson Tatum, who dealt with COVID-19 this season but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, told reporters he was undecided as of yet.

“It definitely is something to think about,” he said last week. “Obviously, going two or three years kind of without much of a break, but obviously that’s an incredible opportunity, and something I’ve got to think about further down the line.”

The United States has an enormously talented pool of players to pull from, with 57 finalists for the roster. That will be naturally whittled down as players choose to skip the Olympics, but the Americans should still be the favorites even if a number of superstars skip Tokyo. 

It's not just NBA fans who dream of inter-generational battles between the greatest players in history.

Even LeBron James does it.

James appeared on UNINTERRUPTED with Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter on Monday and discussed a hypothetical showdown between his 2008 Olympic team—named the Redeem Team because it won the gold medal after the 2004 team won bronze—and the 1992 Dream Team that is widely considered the greatest group of basketball players ever assembled (around the 32-minute mark).

"It definitely would have been a hell of a game," James said while revealing he would pick his own side but acknowledging "whoever got the ball last could win the game."

LeBron joked about how Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant would have their own game within the game, broke down how the 2008 team could pull Charles Barkley from the paint but would have to help Carmelo Anthony on the other side and highlighted the size the 1992 team had at its disposal.

"One thing about the '92 team, they had a lot of grown-ass strong men," he said. "Those guys be lifting cars. You ever see the Strongest Man Competition on ESPN? Charles, Malone, Ewing ... Robinson, those guys are like brute strong."

While matchups between Jordan and Bryant or Dwyane Wade, James and Scottie Pippen, Anthony and Barkley, Dwight Howard and David Robinson, and Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd or Chris Paul would have been thrilling, 2008 may have run into trouble when the benches came into the game.

After all, 11 of the 12 players on the 1992 Dream Team went to the Hall of Fame, and it could have thrown together a secondary unit with John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and Karl Malone, among others.

Players such as Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd and Deron Williams were talented, but dealing with that group may have been an issue.

Still, fans can only dream of the matchups the starting lineups would have created in such a legendary showdown.

Patrick Ewing has two Olympic gold medals, but they are replacements after his original two were stolen.

The Basketball Hall of Famer discussed the situation Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show (at the 8:33 mark):

"My house got broken into in New York at one point, and they stole my medals," Ewing said (h/t TMZ Sports).

He also said someone took his 1984 NCAA championship ring, but the Georgetown star was able to get it back after someone tried to sell it on eBay. USA Basketball was then able to replace the Olympic awards.

"I was able to call Jerry Colangelo, and he was great to be able to get me two replacement medals," he said.

The 57-year-old earned his first Olympic gold in 1984 when he was still at Georgetown, where he now serves as the men's basketball coach. His second title came as part of the 1992 Dream Team that featured 11 Hall of Fame players, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and himself.

New Orleans Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor told ESPN's Marc J. Spears Sunday night that he will play for the Nigerian men's basketball team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"Okafor's grandfather Chicko Okafor hails from Enugu, Nigeria," Spears added.

Mike Brown was announced as the program's head coach earlier this month. Brown has been an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors since the 2016-17 season after previously serving as head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Okafor has competed for the U.S. in the past. The 22-year-old has won gold medals in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, '12 FIBA U17 World Championships and '11 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, according to USA Basketball's official website.

Okafor's NBA career was derailed by injury after the Philadelphia 76ers selected him third overall out of Duke in 2015. He suffered a season-ending meniscus tear during his rookie year. The Sixers traded him to the Brooklyn Nets in December 2017, but he only played 26 games for the Nets. Overall in the 2017-18 campaign, Okafor played just 28 games.

Since signing with New Orleans in August 2018 as a free agent, Okafor has averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15.8 minutes across 86 games (33 starts). So far this season, he has been limited to 27 games. He is averaging 7.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.6 minutes.

Team USA announced the 44 finalists for the Olympic roster earlier this month, and Okafor was not on it.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Josh Okogie, who praised Brown during All-Star Weekend festivities last weekend, will join Okafor on Nigeria's roster.

Tokyo will mark a third consecutive Olympic appearance for the Nigerian men's basketball team.

LeBron James won't compete for Team USA in 2019, but he might make his return to the men's basketball team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

"Yeah, that's a possibility," James said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. "It depends on how I feel. I love the Olympics."

The Los Angeles Lakers star competed in the Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012 but chose not to compete in the 2016 Games.

The 2004 squad was a disappointment after finishing with just a bronze medal, although James was only 19 years old at the time. His teams went on to win gold medals in the next two Olympics alongside Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

In 2016, however, James decided to rest during the offseason after winning the NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series against the Golden State Warriors.

There might be more time for rest now with the Los Angeles Lakers, considering he is missing the postseason for the first time 2005.

With San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich now coaching Team USA, there was even a chance James could play this summer in the FIBA World Cup in China. However, there are scheduling conflicts with his role in Space Jam 2.

"I love everything about Pop, obviously, but this is not a good summer for me," James said.

Still, his respect for Popovich could allow him to make time in his schedule come 2020.