Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo and Team USA enter the Olympic quarterfinals with an undefeated record.
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PARIS — They are serenaded by global basketball fans, surrounded by security and stuck with gold medal expectations. Welcome to the Olympic world that American basketball created for itself.
Three games are done. There’s three to go. There haven’t been any hiccups along the way — all drama was confined to the French booing of Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum sitting out a game — and none are anticipated at Bercy Arena, starting Tuesday against Brazil.
The only shreds of imperfection lie with turnovers, not unusual for a team assembled on the fly. And this roster is too rich with talent to allow that to cause major issues.
21 points.
#USABMNT's average margin of victory in Group C. pic.twitter.com/9E1m4pPeXG
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 3, 2024
“Everything is in order,” said Anthony Davis. “We’re playing for each other. Now it’s all about keeping that pace and minimizing our mistakes.”
Here’s a look at each member, what they’ve done (or haven’t) at this important stage, and what to expect in the unforgiving win-or-else medal round:
LeBron James
He’s pushing 40, yet he’s the face of this team. His coaches and teammates defer to him, the ultimate sign of respect. His play in the warmup games was stellar, and he followed up by being solid in the group play — third on the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounds (6.7), tops in assists (7.3). He’s the unquestioned leader.
None of those games in Lille were close. If that changes here in the medal round, chances are good LeBron will have the ball in the moment of truth and will decide who’ll be the hero — by passing to a teammate, or taking it himself.
Kevin Durant
He is Mr. USA Basketball and didn’t allow a calf strain to threaten that title through one week of 2024. You can even make the case that, on a per-minute basis, KD (averaging 16 points on 63% shooting in 17 minutes) is once again the most productive scorer on Team USA — just as he was in the last two Olympics.
He hasn’t started a game, not that coming off the bench has diminished his energy, enthusiasm or production. KD is saying all the right things about that — “whatever the coach wants me to do” blah, blah — but deep inside probably feels he deserves to start. He might this week, and even if he doesn’t, he’s the best sixth man USA Basketball ever had.
Anthony Edwards
His playful and semi-serious pre-Olympic prediction that the team would revolve around him has somewhat rung true — Edwards leads the team in scoring at 16.7. For the most part, though, his role is more as a supporting player off the bench. He has been forceful with that responsibility and seems to embrace it — no ego shown here.
Besides, team-wise this experience is going better than his Team USA stint last year at the World Cup, so he’s OK.
Bam Adebayo
He has just been so solid all around — defensively, with his improved shooting range, on the glass. This gives him the edge over Davis as the USA’s most imposing big man, a close battle between the two of them.
So far, this Team USA experience for Bam is a progression from the Tokyo Olympics. At this rate, he’s probably a strong favorite to rep USA four years from now in L.A., although first things first — USA could use more of this in the medal round.
Anthony Davis
He worked well off the bench (partnering with Bam) and he worked well in the starting lineup for one game. His versatility and impact at both ends has helped the USA handle any opposing big man threats.
Derrick White
If this were an NBA season, getting White would be the midseason acquisition of the year. Defense, switches, passing, he has been all that since replacing Kawhi Leonard. He said he wasn’t sure what to expect, and that was also the sentiment of a lot of folks.
His addition was somewhat controversial if only because it came at the expense of his Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown. But White was the guy all along, because of how well he complements stars, which obviously is needed on a stacked Team USA.
Devin Booker
More than any of the big shooters and scorers on this team, Booker has changed his game. He’s under control and minimized mistakes while ranking second to LeBron in assists. His defense is a pleasant … surprise? Because of his shooting, that part of his game was overlooked in the NBA.
Kerr asked him to embrace other roles and functions and he did so without complaint and with energy. That’s why coach Steve Kerr had him start regularly, because Booker helped set a positive pace.
Jayson Tatum
He went from not playing at all — the horrors! — to starting two games. So this has been a weird experience for him. He responded well, played decently once given the chance and despite missing that game is leading the team in rebounding. By all indications, he won’t need to worry about collecting dust going forward. That was a one-time thing.
Jrue Holiday
He fits this team’s emphasis on defense. That’s the best description of his value so far. He’s useful in the starting lineup because he has shown to be a better on-ball defender than anyone else in that lineup.
Steph Curry
Here in his first taste of the Olympics, dare we say Steph has looked at times like … a rookie? That’s not to be disrespectful, only to reflect his shooting struggles (26% from deep). Which of course is something he’s capable of overcoming, based on his history of doing just that.
Joel Embiid
Not sure if this is going well for him, at least so far. He doesn’t appear to be at his peak physically and his performances, dogged by errors, have been sketchy other than against Puerto Rico. That said, he’s still holding down a starting position because the coaching staff believe it’s best.
And keep in mind, situations can change in a flash; as his stamina improves, Embiid is capable of dominating stretches.
Tyrese Haliburton
He’s just the odd man out on a team rich with talent, and this was projected at the outset as his most likely situation. Haliburton has good-soldiered his way through playing just 18 minutes, and if nothing else is positioned to grab a nice medal from it.
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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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