2024 USA Men’s Basketball: The greatest of all time?
When we conjure up images of Team USA international basketball, specific figures or teams come to mind.
The ’92 Dream Team and the ’08 Redeem Team, being the most notable, were stocked full of US legends. From Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant, talent to show off to the world has never been tough to come by for the US.
The growing difficulty our country has come to find is not a lack of talent by any means; it’s that the rest of the world has certainly caught up to us in that regard.
If you look around the NBA, you can point to the top five to ten players to see this fact. Players like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, among others, are bucket-getting proof of this.
Competition
Teams like Germany, France, and Canada entered this Olympics with a wealth of NBA talent, making this year the most challenging in history.
Team USA played 61 NBA players this summer. This starkly contrasts the nine the ’92 Dream Team played and is a further testament to the game’s international growth since then.
The game is growing 🤯😳 pic.twitter.com/tec6oqOhMw
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) July 23, 2024
Luckily for us, Team USA decided to assemble the most incredible collection of talent the world has ever witnessed. Don’t just take my word for it; here’s Serbian head coach Svetislav Pesic, who coached against both this iteration of Team USA and ’92 Dream Team.
“We are playing against the best team in the history of national teams.”
– Svetislav Pesic on the semifinal against Team USA
(Via @Eurohoopsnet) pic.twitter.com/sL4dZaBf6y
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 7, 2024
His team did push Team USA to the limit in an all-time classic. In a contest many are calling one of the greatest basketball games of all time, the Serbian national team led for most of the game, even up thirteen going into the 4th quarter.
Thanks to the three best players of the modern era, Team USA pulled off a victory from the jaws of defeat.
The French team, who also gave Team USA all they could handle in the gold medal match, boasted talented NBA players like Evan Fournier, Rudy Gobert, and Victor Wembanyama, the heir to the NBA throne. Everywhere they looked, the rosters were rife with talent.
In spite of the daunting task that lay before them, Team USA took each challenge in stride on their way to winning gold. This was largely due to the unreasonable level of talent our country was able to summon for these Olympic Games.
USA-Grown Talent
This year’s selection of NBA players was arguably the greatest of all time. Boasting players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, the American talent was at an all-time high.
LeBron James became the first Olympic player to record 300 points, 125 rebounds, and 125 assists while also being the first player to record multiple triple-doubles. On the other hand, Kevin Durant became the USA’s all-time leading scorer among both men and women. Durant also became the all-time leader in Men’s Olympic basketball history with four gold medals.
That’s just the top end, too. The collective squad’s overall achievements and career statistics are too many to list.
LeBron James is the only player in Olympic history with 300 PTS • 125 REB • 125 AST. pic.twitter.com/g8Al4HHrPI
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) August 8, 2024
We often remember the ’92 Dream Team for the big names of that era. However, they were by no means all in their prime.
Magic Johnson was post-diagnosis and, while still incredibly skilled, was using the stage in part to help dismantle the stigma around HIV. Larry Bird was very much on the tail end of his career and in the serious back problems phase. The rest of the team would have been dizzy due to the modern team’s outstanding athleticism and shooting.
The 2008 squad came close in talent, but most of it was top-heavy. Outside of players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James (yes, he’s still going), Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard, the team lacked the depth of superstars.
While talented in their time, players like Deron Williams, Tayshaun Prince, and Carlos Boozer don’t compare to today’s players.
THE WORLD THOUGHT THEY HAD A CHANCE AGAINST THIS DUO 😭 pic.twitter.com/hkKhWg1JcN
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) August 10, 2024
Outside of the big three, this squad, dubbed “The Supreme Team,” is bolstered by the depth of players like MVP Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and Bam Adebayo.
Throw in gritty glue players like Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, and you have the best international team ever assembled.
Debates will always rage over who the greatest team was, and they’ll never be settled. But one thing you can’t take away from this group is that gold medal hanging from all their necks.
