2024 Paris Olympics Basketball | IBN PH Discussion Thread

[ja.he]

Though all stars and all nba awardees, none of them are in the Lebron-KD-Curry level

i think Jokic and Giannis are good for one more FIBA-Olympics Cycle, while Luka, Wemby and SGA are still in their early 20s

USA is in deep trouble in 2028 unless the five you mentioned would have a significant leap in the next few yrs

The KD-LeBron types are now SGA, Giannis and Wemby - all international players.

[Giannis34GOD]

Though all stars and all nba awardees, none of them are in the Lebron-KD-Curry level

i think Jokic and Giannis are good for one more FIBA-Olympics Cycle, while Luka, Wemby and SGA are still in their early 20s

USA is in deep trouble in 2028 unless the five you mentioned would have a significant leap in the next few yrs

Tatum is already at his peak.. I don't see him improve more.. he will be the same as 2024 version 4 years from now, Embiid have always health problems and with 34 year old in 2028, he might skip playing summer games already.. Haliburton is not your go to guy material, his trajectory is like Jason Williams or Jason Kidd type of player... Brunson will be defensive liability in international competitions, as we already saw last year's World cup... Edwards might improve, but he's not type of guy will impact same as LeBron or KD.. he is very far from that... I see Cooper Flagg and Chet Holmgren will be the key guys in team USA in 2028.. but they need international experience.. those two should be part of 2027 team in Qatar to get much needed experience... If USA wants to win in 2028, they need a real national team program to continue their dominance in basketball...

[Metta]

This is the age of pace-and-space modern basketball. It's a method where a pound-for-pound inferior team can beat a much superior team. It's why the finalist France win over Japan has an asterisk. And it's why Serbia almost knocked out USA.

Tactics, shooting, excellent roster composition and long preparation are kryptonite to superior-on-paper teams.

Fortunately, the US had the best shooter on earth Curry keeping them in the ballgame. The US team was an excellently-constructed team in terms of defense. It's curious that they did not use that advantage and instead put shooters Curry and Booker together with Jrue.

I thought during the knockout rounds, they would make it drag-out defensive games and avoid shootouts, and let their superior iso players do their thing. It's either they chose not to, or Serbia did not let them.

[lem0nadi]

So if this is the best USA team they can already send and it was pushed to the limits already.

Does that mean the next batches of USA team is not a sure gold anymore?

They won't have Curry/Lebron/KD for the next batch.

[ja.he]

So if this is the best USA team they can already send and it was pushed to the limits already.

Does that mean the next batches of USA team is not a sure gold anymore?

They won't have Curry/Lebron/KD for the next batch.

Outside Embiid (34 in 2028), Bam (31 in 2028) and Davis (34 in 2028), who will be their reliable big?

After Curry, KD and LeBron, who will emerge as their take charge guy?

These will be their achilles heel now.

[CoJ]

So if this is the best USA team they can already send and it was pushed to the limits already.

Does that mean the next batches of USA team is not a sure gold anymore?

They won't have Curry/Lebron/KD for the next batch.

if a omega level superstar like lebron wont emerge in the next 2-3 yrs, USA will have a tough 2027-28 Intl cycle.

[ja.he]

So if this is the best USA team they can already send and it was pushed to the limits already.

Does that mean the next batches of USA team is not a sure gold anymore?

They won't have Curry/Lebron/KD for the next batch.

Outside Embiid (34 in 2028), Bam (31 in 2028) and Davis (34 in 2028), who will be their reliable big?

After Curry, KD and LeBron, who will emerge as their take charge guy?

These will be their achilles heel now.

[lem0nadi]

Outside Embiid (34 in 2028), Bam (31 in 2028) and Davis (34 in 2028), who will be their reliable big?

After Curry, KD and LeBron, who will emerge as their take charge guy?

These will be their achilles heel now.

I don't really see them big guys still playing for USA in the next 4 year cycle but who knows.

Chet Holmgren is the only big I can think of right now that has the star potential for the USA.

Maybe he can be the reliable big.

As for the take charge guy, it might be a 26 yrs old ANT. He might not have the alpha level of those 3 but the way I see it he is the most likely next face of USA Basketball.

IF Cooper Flagg turns out to be that guy then it would be good for the USA.

[Metta]

So if this is the best USA team they can already send and it was pushed to the limits already.

Does that mean the next batches of USA team is not a sure gold anymore?

They won't have Curry/Lebron/KD for the next batch.

This feels similar to 2008. Team USA was constructed well and prepared well. But it still needed a mamba-mode Kobe to defeat Spain.

The difference though is, a lot of up and coming NBA top dogs are not American anymore.

[lem0nadi]

if a omega level superstar like lebron wont emerge in the next 2-3 yrs, USA will have a tough 2027-28 Intl cycle.

Its going to be ANT or Cooper Flagg if he meets all the hype about him.

[CoJ]

Outside Embiid (34 in 2028), Bam (31 in 2028) and Davis (34 in 2028), who will be their reliable big?

After Curry, KD and LeBron, who will emerge as their take charge guy?

These will be their achilles heel now.

Chet Holmgrem probably? Lol

Team USA has a scarcity of S and A tier superstars, though they could still overwhelm the field by sending team of A and B listers and make it to the final four like last year’s World Cup

[Metta]

All other countries goes through boom and bust cycles. Spain and Argentina had their golden generations while France and maybe Germany is having theirs.

We'll see in the next Olympics and beyond whether USA is immune from undergoing talent cycles.

[TheRodster21]

If Zion could get healthy, he could be another superstar for team USA. Cooper Flagg is good but I don’t know if he is a superstar, since his offense in my opinion is limited.

[Metta]

Outside Embiid (34 in 2028), Bam (31 in 2028) and Davis (34 in 2028), who will be their reliable big?

After Curry, KD and LeBron, who will emerge as their take charge guy?

These will be their achilles heel now.

Those bigs at those ages are still at their prime. Fragile AD though might be a concern, and yes, Holmgren might take his spot 4 years from now.

Evan Mobley and JJJ are potentially good prospects. They're not stars but may actually be good fits for the international game because of their defense and versatility.

I think "NBA-superstar-capability" is overrated when it comes to the international game. Guys like Bogdanovic, Schroeder, etc are formidable Fiba players but nowhere near the top of the nba-hierarchy. What's important is the "alpha/dog" gene inside. There's plenty of that in the nba with guys like Ant, Morant, Brown, etc.

[greenarcher]

USA needs FIBA players for their team, not necessarily an All-Star Team.

Some stars are just not made for FIBA or NT duties, like Jamal Murray.