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Team USA Basketball Olympic Draw, Schedule Released

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson•07/09/24•

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We now know Team USA’s path to gold in Paris. The Olympic 5×5 Men’s Basketball draw and schedule are out and the United States is in Group C with Serbia, Puerto Rico, and South Sudan. To win the group and advance to the quarterfinals, Team USA — which includes former Kentucky Wildcats Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, and Bam Adebayo — will have to take down one of the top players in the NBA, a fellow former Cat, and some former Louisville Cardinals.

Team USA will begin play vs. Serbia on Sunday, July 28 at 11:15 a.m. ET on NBC. Serbia is led by Nikola Jokic, a six-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA MVP, and the MVP of the 2023 NBA Finals. NBA players Bogdan Bogdanovic, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Vasilije Micic are also on the Serbian National Team, which finished in the top ten of the FIBA Eurobasket Tournament in 2022.

A few days later, Team USA will face South Sudan, whose roster includes former Cat Wenyen Gabriel, who played with Bam Adebayo on the 2016-17 Kentucky team. Bol Bol, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Manute Bol, is also on South Sudan’s team, along with Thon Maker and former Louisville Cardinals Carlik Jones, Deng Adel, and Mangok Mathiang. That game takes place on Wednesday, July 31 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

Team USA will close group play with Puerto Rico on Saturday, August 3 at 11:15 a.m. ET on NBC. New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado is the most well-known name on Puerto Rico’s squad, but you’ll also recognize Tremont Waters, who played for LSU from 2017-19.

Team USA is the favorite to bring home gold for the seventeenth time. In addition to a trio of former Cats, the roster includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Edwards. Steve Kerr serves as head coach of the squad, which has won gold in the last four Olympic Games. Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo were part of the team that took home gold from Tokyo in 2021, while Anthony Davis hasn’t suited up for the national team since 2012 when Team USA brought home gold from London.

USA vs. Canada in USA Basketball Showcase tomorrow night

Team USA will warm up for Paris in the USA Basketball Showcase, an exhibition series featuring Canada, Australia, Serbia, South Sudan, and Germany in Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and London. Team USA’s first game is tomorrow night vs. Canada, whose roster includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trey Lyles, Jamal Murray, and RJ Barrett. You can watch it live Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. on FS1.

The game comes at the end of Team USA’s training camp, which started late last week in Las Vegas. For the past several days, the 12-man roster has been practicing and scrimmaging against one another and the USA Select Team, which includes current NBA or G League players and Duke incoming freshman Cooper Flagg, who apparently is stealing the show. The current Kentucky team will get to face Flagg and the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic in November in Atlanta.

Here are some more sights and sounds from training camp:

Team USA Roster

Team USA Basketball Exhibition and Olympic Schedule

DateTime (ET)OpponentTVStageLocation
July 1010:30 PMCanadaFS1USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.)Las Vegas, Nevada
July 15NoonAustraliaFS1USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.)Abu Dhabi, UAE
July 17NoonSerbiaFS1USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.)Abu Dhabi, UAE
July 203:00 PMSouth SudanFOXUSA Basketball Showcase (Exh.)London, United Kingdom
July 223:00 PMGermanyFOXUSA Basketball Showcase (Exh.)London, United Kingdom
July 2811:15 AMSerbiaNBC2024 Paris Olympics, Group CLille, France
July 313:00 PMSouth SudanNBC2024 Paris Olympics, Group CLille, France
August 311:15 AMPuerto RicoNBC2024 Paris Olympics, Group CLille, France

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2024-07-27