In three games, Team USA remains undefeated in their warmup “Showcase” games on their way to the Paris Olympics. There is still a lot of work to do to determine who the best starting five is for the men’s team. They are 2-0 after beating Australia 98-92 in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They were up as many as 24 points during the contest. The team opened the exhibition slate with a 86-72 win over Canada last week.

What’s the Problem with USA Basketball? 

The primary issue with USA basketball is two-fold. First, it’s chemistry. Team USA will have been together a couple weeks going into the Olympic games whereas most teams have been playing together for months if not years.

The second is a problem, but it’s a good problem; there’s too many choices. So Steve Kerr, Eric Spoelstra, and the US Olympic coaching staff have to work out the right mixes of all stars between the starting five, second teams and bench pieces.

With many of the players not playing together internationally before, there’s not a lot of time to develop team chemistry and to find the right fits between skill sets. The Australia game highlighted these issues. Australia was able to come back to cut the Team USA lead down to four points with 10 seconds remaining. Definitely not the size of win expected by fans heading into international play. 

Team USA’s Starting Lineup 

With a roster full of future Hall of Famers, there’s been a lot of discussion which players should be included in the starting five. And while we don’t think it’s super important who starts the game rather who finishes the game, it’s fun exercise and conversation to have.

In Team USA’s first game against Canada Kerr started Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. It was clear the starting five was figuring things out. Especially Embiid who struggled with FIBA rules. They ultimately pulled away and won.

For the second game, Coach Kerr made two changes to the starting lineup. He moved Booker and Jrue Holiday to the second unit and started Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards. Step Curry and Joel Embiid started for the second game along with LeBron.

Davis, Adebayo, and Haliburton were the other members of the second unit. KD is still out with a calf injury, and new addition to the team, Derrick White (replaced Kwai), did not play. A lot of fans think Davis should start in place of Embiid, but the second unit has been pretty strong. We have a couple more friendlies for the USMNT to figure things out. While Team USA has looked rocky at times, they are still expected to win the Gold Medal according to Mr Bet Canada. Their top competition according to the betting site are France, Canada, Australia and Serbia.

Richard Jefferson’s Starting Five

Team USA obviously boasts a roster filled with superstars and legends, each having a case for starting. Ultimately, the decision of selecting the starters rests with head coach Steve Kerr. While Kerr has not yet decided on his starting lineup, former NBA player Richard Jefferson has made his recommendations for Team USA’s first five based on height and versatility:

 

If fully healthy, this is @Rjeff24‘s ideal starting lineup for Team USA ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xnuAl2YhVp

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 15, 2024

“The U.S. has a unique ability to have the biggest lineup, maybe in the history of basketball,” Jefferson imagining his dream starting lineup. “We have LeBron James at 6’9” ½, We have Jayson Tatum at 6’8” ½, 6’9”, So we put Kevin Durant at 6’11”, he’s gonna be my small forward. And we’re gonna put Anthony Davis, and we’re gonna put Joel Embiid. You have 6’10” across the board.”

 

ESPN’s Starting Five Based on RAPTOR

The arguments around who should start and who shouldn’t spread to ESPN. The sports network created an interactive game where you can choose the best USA five based on their RAPTOR scoring that even includes the ability to include Olympic snubs Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, and Jalen Brunson. If you want to try your hand at the game and not spoil it; don’t continue scrolling and instead click here to see if you can get a perfect 100%.

 

Our Starting Five for Paris Olympics

When it comes down to the best five the USA can put on the court, we have to go with Anthony Davis and Anthony Edwards. The two have proven to be the most-effective in the international game. We haven’t seen KD play with this team, but he’s Team USA’s all-time leading scorer, so we know he can get his shot. Add Jayson Tatum because of his versatility, length and shooting. Those four make the most sense based on their performance.

Believe it or not, we had the hardest time choosing the point guard. While Curry seems like an easy choice, his shot hasn’t dropped and is a defensive liability. We chose Haliburton over Curry, Holiday and White for his ability to create, push the ball, pass-first mentality and shoot open threes when it comes down to it. Haliburton’s defense isn’t the greatest, but he’s 6’5 so he has some height and length.

Yes, we have LeBron James and Steph Curry coming off the bench. Sounds like blasphemy we know, but if we want to put the most-effective five for a 40-minute, FIBA-officiated, play-by-Olympic-rules basketball game, we like our chances with Curry, Edwards, Durant, Tatum and Davis.

Team USA’s All-Defense Team

Like Jefferson, we are excited to put together a defense-first team that would be able to shut down any opponent. On this team, we’d put money on this five and play slots online to get a stop on defense. Our defensive five would begin and end with Anthony Davis at center and Jrue Holiday at guard. Filling this scary team is Bam Adebayo at the four, Derrick White (or Tatum) guarding the small forward, and Anthony Edwards hounding the other guard. We would have easily replaced White with a healthy Kawhi Leonard and that could have been the best defensive starting five ever in the history of Olympic Basketball.

Who is Leading USA Basketball in Performance so Far? 

If we use the Australia game as our measuring stick, Anthony Davis. He had a team-leading 17 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks. Not even playing ¾ of the game. There were six players reaching double digits in points this game. In addition to Davis, Devin Booker (16), Anthony Edwards (14), LeBron James (10), Joel Embiid (10) and Bam Adebayo (10). Eight players on the team hit a three pointer which put the team at 12-29 for the game. 

2024 USA Basketball Schedule

There are three exhibition games remaining for the USA basketball schedule. The next game which is a preview of Olympic group play for the US is on Wednesday. They play Serbia. The teams meetup again on July 28th, 2024. Here’s the remaining exhibition schedule along with TV broadcast plans. 

 

Date	Matchup	Competition	Time	TV Network
July 17	Team USA vs. Serbia	USA Basketball Showcase (Abu Dhabi)	12 p.m. ET	FS1
July 20	Team USA vs. South Sudan	USA Basketball Showcase (London)	3 p.m. ET	FOX
July 22	Team USA vs. Germany	USA Basketball Showcase (London)	3 p.m. ET	FOX

2024 Olympics Men’s Basketball Schedule

The 2024 Olympics men’s basketball schedule kicks off on July 28th for USA basketball against Serbia. It is the first of three games in group play. The schedule runs through August 10th for the Paris Olympics. Once group play is over, we move to the knockout phase of the tournament. 

USA Basketball Showcase Highlights (vs Australia)

Here are highlights for USA basketball against Australia.