Led by head coach Gregg Popovich, the U.S. men’s basketball team will look to make it four consecutive gold medals when it competes at the Tokyo Olympics.
In addition to the last three, the United States has won six of the last seven Olympic titles. Argentina took home the gold in Athens in 2004 when the U.S. finished third.
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Group play runs from July 25 to Aug. 1, while the knockout stage is set to run from Aug. 2 to Aug. 7. All games will be held at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.
Team USA went 2-2 in four exhibitions leading up to the Olympics ― a 90-87 loss to Nigeria, a 91-83 loss to Australia, a 108-80 win over Argentina and an 83-76 win over Spain. It was set to face Australia a second time ahead of the Games before the exhibition was canceled "out of an abundance of caution" after Team USA had multiple players enter health and safety protocols.
Here's what you need to know about Team USA:
Roster
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons)
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks)
Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)
Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)
Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
JaVale McGee (Denver Nuggets)
Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
Coaches: Popovich (head coach), Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, Jay Wright
― LaVine entered health and safety protocols and did not travel with the team to Tokyo on Monday. However, the Bulls guard cleared protocols just a day later and re-joined the team on Thursday. Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, who was initially on the roster, won't play in Tokyo due to health and safety protocols, while Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, also on the original roster, withdrew due to a lingering calf injury.
Booker, Middleton and Holiday, who all played in the NBA Finals, joined the team in Tokyo. Middleton and Holiday helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA Championship in six games over Booker's Phoenix Suns.
Format
The 2020 Olympics are debuting a new group format that includes three groups of four teams instead of two groups of six. This means there will be fewer games played with the maximum per team being six (the U.S. played eight games on their way to the gold medal in 2016).
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Group A
France
Iran
United States
Czech Republic
Group B
Australia
Nigeria
Germany
Italy
Group C
Argentina
Japan
Spain
Slovenia
Schedule
July 25: France 83, U.S. 76
July 28: U.S. 120, Iran 66
July 31 vs. Czech Republic, 8 a.m. ET
Quarterfinals, Aug. 2-3, TBD
Semifinals, Aug. 5, TBD
Bronze-medal game, Aug. 7, 7 a.m. ET
Gold-medal game, Aug. 6, 10:30 p.m. ET
Athletes to watch
Kevin Durant, USA: Team USA got a huge boost when Durant committed to play. The decision was a pleasant surprise for managing director Jerry Colangelo and company considering Durant had just completed his first full season back after tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals. The veteran, who currently sits first in the U.S. Olympic men’s record book in points per game (19.4), will be looking for his third gold medal.
Luka Doncic, Slovenia: Coming off his second All-NBA first-team appearance in just his third season in the league, Doncic now leads his home country of Slovenia into the Olympics for the first time in its history. And he did so in typical Doncic fashion, by registering a triple-double of 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to beat Lithuania in the qualifying tournament final. Slovenia likely isn’t strong enough to seriously threaten the U.S., but any team led by Doncic shouldn’t be an easy out.
Pau and Marc Gasol, Spain: While it’s no shock to see Marc on the Spain roster considering he’s still playing in the NBA at 36, seeing his brother Pau, 40, two decades after his first appearance with Spain’s senior national team is somewhat surprising. Pau returned home to Spain in February to play with FC Barcelona, where he started his professional career, with an aim to be named to the Olympic team. With the Gasol brothers, accompanied by the Juancho and Willy Hernangómez brothers, as well as veteran players such as Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernández, Sergio Rodríguez and Alex Abrines, Spain will be a serious medal contender after earning bronze in Rio.
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Rudy Gobert, France: While France features a number of NBA players, including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Frank Ntilikina, it’ll be led by the NBA’s three-time Defensive Player of the Year in Gobert. He’ll be making his second Olympic appearance after playing in the 2016 Games in Rio, where France finished in sixth.
Teams to watch
United States (No. 1 FIBA): The defending three-time gold medalists, led by the likes of Durant, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum. What else needs to be said? Simply put, the Americans have the most talent of anyone in the field, and while they’d be wise not to take any of the other teams lightly (evident by their 0-2 start to exhibition play), the only team that will stop Team USA from earning its fourth straight gold medal is itself.
Spain (No. 2 FIBA): This team is no joke. Not only do the Spaniards have the talent to compete with basically anyone in the world, but they also boast plenty of experience. In Rio, Spain narrowly beat out Australia for the bronze medal, and in the two Olympics before that, the nation took home the silver medal in each. If anyone knows how best to play the Americans in international play, it’s Spain.
Australia (No. 3 FIBA): Australia, making its 13th straight Olympic appearance, has never won a medal, but after just barely missing out on a bronze in 2016, the hype surrounding this squad is warranted. The roster contains a plethora of NBA players: Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matisse Thybulle, Dante Exum, Matthew Dellavedova, Josh Green. This team will be relying on a number of younger players, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Australia finally break through and finish in the top three.
Argentina (No. 4 FIBA): Though it didn’t quite have the performance it was hoping for in Rio, Argentina is another one of those countries that always seems to be in contention. Prior to their eighth-place finish in 2016, the Argentinians had finishes of fourth and third in the prior two Olympics. They took home the gold medal in 2004 (defeated Team USA in the semifinals). Absent star players (at least known to NBA fans), Argentina will rely on its veteran experience in its attempt to get back on the podium.
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(Photo: Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)
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