MANILA, Philippines, April 17 ------ Team USA will bring the big guns to the Paris Olympics. NBA superstars LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry will reportedly spearhead a powerhouse USA squad bent on dominating Olympic men’s basketball for the fifth straight edition.
According to multiple outlets such as USA Today and ESPN, the Americans have already picked 11 from the original pool of 41 for the Paris mission. Aside from two-time Olympic gold medalist James, Olympiad debutant Curry and three-time winner Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton will also be in the roster.
Coach Steve Kerr will have at his disposal size, scoring, defense and star power in this bid to extend the golden run Team USA started in 2008 in Beijing. The star-studded crew will initially face 2023 FIBA World Cup runner-up Serbia, debuting South Sudan and the winner of the upcoming Puerto Rico Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the preliminaries in the French capital.
Kerr and his high-powered troops will try to reestablish American dominance after failing to win a medal in the last major tournament, the World Cup in Manila last year. Composed of rising stars from the NBA, Team USA settled for fourth in the global meet after losing to Canada in the bronze-medal game, 118-127 in overtime. From that group, only Edwards and Haliburton will return and get a crack at Olympic glory.
Source: philstar.com
Comentários