The USA Olympic Basketball team hasn’t announced the roster for the 2024 season. But it sounds like many of the top American players will decide to compete in the 2024 Olympics.
However, Joel Embiid has already committed to Team USA and could earn an MVP again in the 2023-2024 season. Steph Curry admitted that playing in the Olympics is the only thing he hasn’t done in his professional career. Therefore, it’s likely he’ll join the team. There’s also Kevin Durant, who has already told the media that he will play in the Olympics next season. Even LeBron James said he’d consider playing again, knowing he wouldn’t have to put in too much effort knowing the talent playing around him.
There are only 12 spots, and that means there will be many snubs. But the USA should be able to put together a roster that looks as exciting as the 1992 Dream Team.
On the other hand, the USA’s biggest competitor will be Serbia. The Serbians have Nikola Jokic, who is planning to join the team in the 2024 Summer Olympics too. This isn’t official. However, NBA sportsbooks believe Jokic and other NBA stars from Serbia will join the team to compete for a gold medal.
2024 Men’s Olympic Basketball Odds
Check out the odds to win the 2024 Men’s Olympic Basketball Gold, courtesy of BetOnline (check our BetOnline Review).
United States Olympic Basketball History
The United States of America is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all 19 Olympic tournaments it has entered. 16 of those medals have been gold models.
The US won the Gold in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Three of those wins were with Mike Krzyzewski as head coach. In 2020, Gregg Popovich was head coach and helped the United States to its fourth win in a row.
Some might look at the United States’ overall record. But if you look at the FIBA records, things will look different due to the USA not having its best players. In 2024, the best players from the NBA who are from the United States will commit and play in the Olympics. That’s a huge difference.
Serbia’s Basketball History & Projected Roster
Serbia should have Nikola Jokic as the anchor of the team this year. He’ll also have other notable names like Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Even a notable big man in Filip Petrusev will likely make the team, along with other starters like point guard Vasilije Micic and Nikola Kalinic.
Ironically, the depth chart at this moment has four players with Nikola as the first name.
Serbia is expected to play many EuroBasket qualifiers in February and November. But we likely won’t see the full Olympic roster play until the summer Olympics.
🚨OFFICIAL🚨
— Nuggets Lead (@NuggetsLead) October 17, 2023
NIKOLA JOKIC WILL REPRESENT SERBIA IN THE 2024 OLYMPICS pic.twitter.com/7lV92CFg6y
Takeaways
The Serbian team should be a really tough out in the Summer Olympics. However, the United States often dominates the Tournament. While the talent gap has closed a little bit, with the United States adding all of its top players, it will still be extremely hard for a team like Serbia to get through the United States.
Ultimately, the United States has way more athleticism and should have some big-time shooters on the team this year. It’s hard to defend this group, and as long as the United States buys in on the defensive end, they’ll win Gold.
Some of these guys will be retired by the next time the Summer Olympics comes. This is LeBron James’ last chance at earning a gold medal. It might even be Steph Curry’s last chance to secure one, and he’s never even attempted to play in the Olympics previously. Therefore, I think that the United States will take this tournament seriously and win the Gold medal.
Serbia still has a chance at earning a medal. While it’s unlikely that they knock off the United States, they’ll have to get through Canada, France, and Germany. Those three teams will likely have more NBA players and talent on their rosters. But if we know anything from watching Nikola Jokic, it’s that he makes everyone around him better.
