They will play with Serbia, South Sudan and the winner of a FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.
On Tuesday, FIBA released the draw for the men’s basketball teams in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The groupings
The stage is set
Here’s how the Men’s Olympic Basketball groups look for #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/MFX5ylqtEe
— FIBA (@FIBA) March 19, 2024
Group A: Australia, Canada, Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner (Greece pool), Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner (Spain pool).
Group B: France, Germany, Japan, Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner (Latvia)
Group C: Serbia, South Sudan, United States, Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner (Puerto Rico)
Which teams are in the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments?
Puerto Rico tournament
- Bahrain, Cote D’Ivoire, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Puerto Rico
Greece tournament
- Croatia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, New Zealand, Slovenia
Latvia tournament
- Brazil, Cameroon, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro, Philippines
Spain tournament
- Angola, Bahamas, Finland, Lebanon, Poland, Spain
The winner of these tournaments will get a spot in the Olympic tournament.
Who is the favorite to win?
While Team USA is ranked No. 1 in the world with Spain not far behind, Germany is the defending World Cup champion and will be the team to beat in Paris, assuming the Americans bring a roster that’s similar to their World Cup squad.
That said, the Americans are looking to bring a third version of the Dream Team of sorts, with superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and more apparently willing to play. They are in the 41-player pool for the final team. If the Americans bring their “A” team and that team can develop chemistry, then they will be the favorites, but chemistry is also what Team USA lacks compared to most of these other national teams that beat them in international competition.
One thing is a guarantee with the men’s team, barring a wacky trade: there won’t be a Washington Wizards player on Team USA, where there has never been an active player on the actual Olympic team. I will also go so far to say that I doubt we will see any Wizards player on any national team for that matter.
Israel is not in the Olympics either way, so Deni Avdija’s out. And Tristan Vukcevic is too young to play for Greece, Italy or Serbia, given that he hasn’t officially declared a FIBA nationality as far as I know.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.