Previewing the 2024 USA Basketball Men's National Team

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Twelve circular portals of neon orange appeared out of thin air. Colors of orange fly from the edge of the globe in a brilliant fashion, spinning clockwise as the views of various cities from across the US grow wider and wider. The blaring horns in the background build to a crescendo. You've probably seen this scene before, in a movie theater in 2019. Except this isn't a movie: These are the biggest hooligans in the United States of America.

While USA Basketball representatives fly around the country introducing each player for the 2024 Men's National Team for their USA Series in April, users at X filled the timeline with the only comparison that makes sense: a 20-second clip Avengers: Endgame.

At the film's climax, the full Avengers team emerges, traveling across the universe to join Captain America in one final showdown against Thanos. One by one, the greatest heroes in the galaxy stand shoulder to shoulder. It's a great matchup for this year's team: one last ride with the best basketball powerhouse ever assembled.

The USA Basketball Men's National Team descended on Paris with the momentum of the Infinity Gauntlet. When the official roster was announced in mid-April, the basketball community erupted with excitement, and rightfully so. We couldn't stop talking about it either. This amount of talent, all on one team, makes them today's Avengers: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Derrick White, Joel Embiid, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum .

On paper, the list is there accumulated. For the first time in USA Basketball history, the Men's National Team will include four former NBA MVPs: Durant, James, Embiid and Curry. Then there's the team's 11 combined Olympics appearances, 10 total gold medals, three FIBA ​​World Cup titles, seven returning Olympians and 84 NBA All-Stars selected…yes, the US is not playing fair.

When USA Basketball Men's National Team Executive Director Grant Hill set out on a seemingly simple but complex task—building the best basketball team in the world—he assembled a 12-man roster, to be led by head coach Steve Kerr. , which can withstand one of the strongest Olympic fields in recent memory.

The path to glory and the highest view from the top of the stage will not be easy. It has never been like that. But then again *check list* we've never seen anything like this before.

It's been 12 years since we last saw LeBron James take the court with the letters “USA” across his chest. Olympic memories of tomahawk dunks, outside alley-oops and massive baseline-to-baseline dominance haven't been real for more than a decade.

James chose to rest his body and sit out the 2016 and 2020 Games. Now, at 39 years old and with a list of awards longer than Santa Claus' wish list, he's back. And 2024 is a different story; the last time he shot Gold.

It's not the same LeBron that walked through London when he released the iconic Nike LeBron X all those years ago, but don't be fooled. The explosion is still there, the low-post game is everywhere, the court vision is still amazing and anyone can get caught at any time. Coming off his 21st season—in which he shot a career-high 41 percent from three—LeBron's refined touch and age will be the soul of the pack. And next to him will be Kevin Durant, who drives into the net behind the jumper.

The Olympics are KD's playground. Every four years, the world's leading goalscorer toys with defenders and lights the nets on fire with a FIBA-certified ball. Durant boasts a wealth of experience on the team with three Gold medals on his resume, a journey that began when he was the team's bucket maker after stepping up to the plate in 2012 at the London Games. He has the USA Basketball record books closed: all-time leader in points (453), scoring average (19.8 ppg), we could go on and on. If this summer goes as planned, Durant will go down as the most decorated player in USA Basketball men's history with a record four Olympic gold medals.

Stephen Curry, however, shoots first. “Obviously we want to go get the Gold, and this is my first experience, I'm very happy,” said Curry. Inside the NBA mid April. “I'm 36 now and I don't know if I'm going to have another, so this year for sure.”

After back-to-back Finals began in '15 and '16 and the continuation of the Covid pandemic until 2021, Curry, like James, played the last two games of the Olympics to rest and heal some injuries. Meanwhile, the world is patiently waiting to see him hold the title three times against the best in the world.

It may be his debut, but Curry has contributed to the team's success on the international stage, winning gold at the FIBA ​​World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Now, the future Hall of Famer will check “Olympics” off his bucket list. .

Anthony Davis was only 19 when he was selected to the 2012 US Men's National Team. After taking home the Gold Medal, the five-time All-Defensive Team honoree is now responsible for manning the paint for the US alongside his first-ever Olympic teammate, Joel Embiid.

Embiid could have played for France — where he has citizenship — or Cameroon, his home country, but instead, the 2023-24 NBA MVP chose to play for the USA.

“After talking to my family, I realized that it should be [USA Basketball]. I want to play with my brothers in the League. “I want to play for my fans because they've been amazing since the day I got here,” Embiid wrote on X in October 2023. “But most of all, I want to honor my son who was born in the US that I want. my boy knows that I played for him in my first Olympics.”

This year's team has a number of returning members from USA Basketball's last gold medal team, including one of the game's most underrated players: Bam Adebayo. Open-floor point guard, mid-range small forward, block center—the 2020 Olympian is a cheat code for international competition. While Bam, AD and Embiid dominate the floor, Jrue Holiday, another member of the returning team, lurks on the perimeter.

The holiday will pick your pocket, sneak in the passing lane and hang out with the best of them. For years, the two-time NBA All-Star has been the benchmark for championship-winning and competitive teams. You play to win, and you lead by doing. He was given the same job alongside defensive stalwart Derrick White, who joins Embiid and Curry as the third player for the first time on an Olympic team. The NBA is full of great scorers, but the selection of different tactics collected by the US Men's National Team is what takes this list from Gold to Certified Platinum.

“This guy next to me is going to be next,” Kevin Durant said The Boston Herald's Mark Murphy after becoming USA Basketball's all-time scoring leader in July 2021. The “guy” he was referring to was Jayson Tatum.

Tatum fondly remembers the team's first action of 2020 against the USA Select Team in Las Vegas. Another kicked him on the wing, and instead of getting his own, the 23-year-old put it past Durant who was on his right.

“I remember he was mad at me,” Tatum told Draymond Green on the “Draymond Green Show” in April 2022. “He was like, Hey, don't look at me. Be yourself. I need you to kill. And I was like … you need me to do it me in this group.” So that's what he did.

After dropping their first match of the 2020 Tokyo Games to France, the US won their second game by scoring 54 points against Iran, and in the third, Tatum led the US team with a team-high 27 points in a 10-16 victory. shooting from the field in victory against the Czech Republic. Point taken. Then the next talisman appeared.

And so are Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker and Tyrese Haliburton. As Durant, LeBron and Curry prepare for their final ride this summer, USA Basketball looks to the future of the country's success on the world stage. It starts with building the next generation of flag bearers.

This past NBA season served as the official launch of Ant-Man as the next superstar of the League. When the offense falters and the momentum starts to fade, Edwards will smile as he plans his next display of athleticism to cap a 20-0 run. Haliburton's arrival extends the country's long line of offensive linemen and transition-minded passers while Booker's commitment to mid-range and iso handling often makes for a quick offense in the most unexpected situations. The next generation of USA Basketball players is an unabashed reminder of why this team is so exciting. Everyone can make their claim for playing time. This isn't just a 12-man roster, it's a deep 12-man rotation.

The schedule will be tight, but the experience will be unforgettable. It will be remembered, history will be written and the next chapter of USA Basketball will be written. Meanwhile, Durant wants to see complete dominance.

“I want to make a statement about how much our players gave,” said Durant in his own Dining room Cover story in February. “Like 40 points, 50 points. I want to do that.”

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