Gold Rush

Let the world be warned: &lsquo;The Avengers&rsquo; are coming.
USA Basketball has officially unveiled its roster featuring several NBA superstars and this generation&rsquo;s best basketball players in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 12 players to be part of the exclusive list include:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">LeBron James</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Stephen Curry</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kevin Durant</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kawhi Leonard</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Joel Embiid</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jayson Tatum</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Devin Booker</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jrue Holiday</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anthony Davis</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bam Adebayo</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anthony Edwards&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tyrese Haliburton</li>
</ul>
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The Stars Align in the City of Light. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USABMNT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USABMNT</a> <a href="https://t.co/RV1tIGoxXa">pic.twitter.com/RV1tIGoxXa</a>
&mdash; USA Basketball (@usabasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/usabasketball/status/1780604665505149074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a>
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Barring any unforeseen circumstances or injuries, these 12 men will be flying to Paris in July. Team USA officials headed by managing director Grant Hill have reportedly notified those players who have been selected (and those who have not) from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-player-pool-for-team-usas-2024-mens-national-team">original 41-man pool</a> revealed earlier this year. Those selected have been visited by USAB officials to be presented with &lsquo;special Team USA Olympic jerseys.&rsquo;
Team USA is set to defend again its Olympic gold medal in men&rsquo;s basketball after winning it for the past 4 iterations of the quadrennial event.&nbsp;
Leading the team are James, Curry, and Durant, who are arguably the game&rsquo;s biggest stars over the past decade or so.
James will play in his 4th Olympics after winning bronze in Athens 2004 and gold in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Curry, a winner of two FIBA World Cup medals in the past, will be playing in his 1st Olympics. Durant, the Americans&rsquo; all-time leading scorer, is looking for his 4th Olympic gold medal (won in 2012, 2016, and 2020) to break a tie with Carmelo Anthony (won in 2008, 2012, and 2016) for the most ever.
Supplementing its three-headed monster are Tatum, Booker, and Holiday &ndash; members of the gold medal-winning squad in Tokyo 2021. Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid and two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who have never played in any international competition in their careers, will each be making their debuts in Paris.
Previous Olympic gold medal winners Davis and Adebayo add additional size to the roster while Edwards and Haliburton, who emerged as USA&rsquo;s best players in the World Cup last year, round out the team.
Coaching this vaunted USA roster is Curry&rsquo;s NBA coach Steve Kerr, who also coached Team USA in the World Cup.&nbsp;

USA Basketball announces its official roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics featuring the best the NBA has to offer.

‘Here come the Avengers’: USA Basketball announces roster for 2024 Paris Olympics

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins scored 27 points and Providence dominated the second half and knocked off fourth-ranked UConn 73-61 on Wednesday night for its eighth straight victory.
Noah Locke added 17 points to help the Friars (13-3, 5-0) earn their second win over a ranked team this season and remain unbeaten in the Big East. It was Providence&rsquo;s first win over the Huskies at Amica Mutual Pavilion since Feb. 20, 2012, when the Friars won 72-70.
Jordan Hawkins led the Huskies (14-2, 3-2) with 15 points, and Donovan Clingan added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Huskies have lost two in a row after opening the season with 14 straight wins and winning their first three conference games.
GEORGIA TECH 76, NO. 12 MIAMI 70
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Lance Terry scored a season-high 24 points, Miles Kelly added 20 and Georgia Tech snapped Miami&rsquo;s nine-game winning streak.
The Yellow Jackets (8-6, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) closed the game on a 12-0 run that ended with a pair of free throws by Kelly with 16.5 seconds remaining. That ended the scoring.
Miami (13-2, 4-1) didn&rsquo;t score over the last four-plus minutes. Jordan Miller and Norchad Omier each led the Hurricanes with 17 points, and Nijel Pack had 13.
NO. 13 ARKANSAS 74, NO. 20 MISSOURI 68
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Ricky Council scored 25 points and Joseph Pinion scored 13 off the bench as Arkansas rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Missouri.
The Razorbacks (12-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) didn&rsquo;t lead until back-to-back fast-break buckets from Council and guard Devo Davis provided a one-point advantage with 14:24 left.
Missouri (12-2, 1-1) had stifled Arkansas and built its lead to 17 points with its zone defense in the first half, limiting the Razorbacks to 36% shooting from the field and 2 for 12 from 3-point range.
Sean East led Missouri with 13 points, while Nick Honor and Kobe Brown added 12 and 11, respectively.
N.C. STATE 84, NO. 16 DUKE 60
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terquavion Smith scored 24 points and N.C. State jumped all over Duke from the opening tip.
Jarkel Joiner added 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Wolfpack (12-4, 2-3 ACC), who scored the game&rsquo;s first 15 points and led by 22 by halftime in a shocking romp.
While the Wolfpack pounced, the Blue Devils (11-4, 2-2) watched early shots roll off the rim or be swatted away. They compounded their problems by piling up turnovers in a game that quickly got away.
Freshman Kyle Filipowski scored 14 points to lead Duke, which shot 40% and just 5 of 15 from 3-point range. Duke also committed 21 turnovers, many fueling the Wolfpack&rsquo;s 25 fast-break points.
NO. 17 TCU 88, NO. 19 BAYLOR 87
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon made a jumper with 4 seconds left and TCU rallied to beat Baylor, extending the Horned Frogs&rsquo; winning streak to 11 games.
The Frogs (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) got the ball back after a missed 3-pointer by Baylor&rsquo;s Jaylen Bridges that went out of bounds with 10 seconds left. Mike Miles Jr., who scored a career-high 33 points, had the ball, but passed to O&rsquo;Bannon in front of the TCU bench.
Baylor freshman Keyonte George scored a season-high 27 points, but he missed a contested drive to the hoop as the game ended.
Damian Baugh and Eddie Lampkin both had 15 points for TCU, which has come back from double-digit deficits in each of its first two Big 12 games. Lampkin had five points in the final 1:45.
Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer had 13 points each for Baylor (10-4, 0-2), which had its 13-game home winning streak snapped.
GEORGIA 76, NO. 22 AUBURN 64
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) &mdash; Terry Roberts overcame early foul trouble to match his career high with 26 points and Georgia made first-year coach Mike White&rsquo;s Southeastern Conference debut with the Bulldogs memorable by beating Auburn.
Auburn (11-3, 1-1 SEC) trailed most of the game despite Johni Broome&rsquo;s 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Tigers couldn&rsquo;t stage a serious late comeback, pulling no closer than eight points in the final 3 minutes.
Kario Oquendo had 17 points for Georgia (11-3, 1-0), which celebrated its SEC opener after a strong nonconference showing under White, the former Florida coach.
NO. 23 CHARLESTON 92, N.C. A&amp;T 79
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Dalton Bolon tallied his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 boards as the College of Charleston won its 14th straight game by notching a victory over N.C. A&amp;T.
Charleston (15-1, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) is off to its best single-season start since joining the Division I ranks in 1991.
Bolon &mdash; who was one of five Charleston players to score in double digits &mdash; made 10 of 16 shots for the Cougars and also dished out two assists. Ante Brzovic and Pat Robinson III each scored 12 points, while Raekwon Horton and Ben Burnham both had 11.
Kam Woods scored a career-high 30 points to lead N.C. A&amp;T (6-10, 1-2). Duncan Powell added 20 points for the Aggies, while Marcus Watson had 12 points and 12 boards.
NO. 25 IOWA STATE 63, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Grill scored 20 points and Iowa State held on to beat Oklahoma.
Osun Osunniyi added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cyclones (11-2, 2-0 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 16 and Tanner Groves had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners (9-5, 0-2). Oklahoma was coming off a 70-69 home loss to No. 6 Texas.
Oklahoma&rsquo;s Grant Sherfield, who was averaging 18.3 points per game, finished with four points on 1 for 7 shooting.

A recap of Wednesday night's men's college basketball slate includes the Friars staying red-hot against a top-five Huskies team.

Providence beats No. 4 UConn 73-61 for 8th straight win

In discussing his new role as Managing Director of USA Basketball, seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill said a mouthful when looking back at what transpired this summer with the United States men's national team and the Tokyo Olympics. Also, he called Kevin Durant &ldquo;maybe the best offensive player of all-time.&rdquo;
That may not sit well with his old rivals in Michael Jordan and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal among others, but anyone who watched Durant lead the American team to the gold medal would at least say that Hill has a valid argument as he plunges into his newest job.
&ldquo;What is encouraging is that we had the best offensive player, maybe of all-time, wanting to be a part of it, along with a lot of our best young guys wanting to be a part of it,&rdquo; Hill told BasketballNews.com in his first interview since taking over the USA Basketball position previously held by Jerry Colangelo. &ldquo;I do believe there is a widespread excitement and desire to be a part of it.&rdquo;
Colangelo stepped down following the Olympics after being at the helm for 15 years and winning four Olympic gold medals. Now, Hill must first decide who will replace Gregg Popovich as head coach and who will play for the team that will have to qualify for the World Cup beginning in November. Jeff Van Gundy, who handled coaching duties when the Americans qualified for the 2019 World Cup in China and became the chief U.S. scout for the Tokyo Olympics afterward, would seem like a likely candidate if he can get clearance from his broadcasting duties at ESPN and ABC.
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The next competition for Team USA is the 2023 World Cup of Basketball, which will be contended in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan &ndash; the first time multiple nations have played host to the event. And though it may be a challenge to get a team of top American professionals to commit to playing in those far-flung locales, Hill said he will definitely field a team of NBA players, despite suggestions from some corners that the Americans should use a team that has already competed under the Team USA banner (such as the Under-19 team led by Chet Holmgren, a Gonzaga recruit who is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft).
&ldquo;Every generation of players is different, so the challenge is what can we do to make it interesting and welcoming so that players will want to be a part of it,&rdquo; Hill said. &ldquo;I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and making it work.&rdquo;
Presumably, the coach who ends up leading Team USA at the 2023 World Cup will also be the head coach for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, when Durant &ndash; if he so chooses &ndash; will have a chance to go for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. Whether that will happen is a long way from being determined, and Durant will have had two more seasons to try to bring the Brooklyn Nets franchise its first NBA championship.
What Hill expects to be difficult is keeping expectations in line with reality, something Popovich and his predecessor, Mike Krzyzewski, dealt with over the past decade-and-a-half. There is a segment of the basketball-viewing public that expects American teams to dominate the competition, but in reality the American teams have been challenged and defeated at numerous events, including the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis, the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the 2006 World Championship in Japan and the 2019 World Cup in China. It even happened during training camp this summer when they lost exhibition games against Nigeria and Australia. That was, however, before the roster was tweaked and the team came together over the course of the Olympics, peaking at the end and defeating France 87-82 for the gold medal.
Hill was a member of the first U.S. team that was challenged &ndash; the 1996 Olympic squad that competed in Atlanta and had its hands full in the first half of the gold-medal game against Yugoslavia before pulling away in the second half.
&ldquo;What I remember most were the personalities on that team: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton," Hill recalled. "It was always fun to be together as a group, just constant laughs, and back then, guys did not know each other as well as they do nowadays because there was no social media and guys played on different teams, and they were just not as connected.
"But I remember the practices were incredible. I went up against Scottie Pippen every day, and all of us formed a bond and a connection that has lasted 25 years."
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Two years from now, and then again the following summer, similar bonds will be formed by players to be determined. Whether they return to the United States with gold medals remains to be seen, but Hill sounded a cautionary tone when he noted that last season&rsquo;s NBA Most Valuable Player, Nikola Jokic, and his runner-up, Joel Embiid, were non-Americans. This year's NBA Finals MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and NBA Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert) were international stars as well.
Hill also spoke about his role as the secretary of the National Basketball Retired Players Association&rsquo;s Legends Care initiative, which earlier this year awarded five $10,000 scholarships to students who will be attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the fall.
&ldquo;I was very involved in picking the finalists,&rdquo; Hill said. "And in reading the essays and looking at the students' histories, you hate to narrow it down because they are all inspiring, all deserving in many ways. We look forward to doing this for years to come. We looked at everything from GPAs to hardships growing up, how some endured gun violence, some had low household income. When you see what they&rsquo;ve endured, it&rsquo;s wonderful to see who these students actually are."
Here are the "Starting Five&rdquo; of the Legends HBCU Scholarship and Legends Scholars program:
<ul>
<li aria-level="2">Damon Germaine Bryan Jr.</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="3">South Carolina State University, Class of 2022&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Major: Criminal Justice&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Born and raised in the projects of Charleston, SC, he plans to use his major to develop a youth center that would offer a safe space with services &ndash; such as mentoring &ndash; and college scholarships to help youth realize their potential and build for their future outside of their current constraints.</li>
</ul>
<li aria-level="2">Saniya Keeton&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="3">Tuskegee University, Class of 2023&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Major: Animal Science&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Only 2.1% of veterinary medicine professionals are people of color. She plans to use her major to become a veterinarian, adding to the diversity of the field and showing BIPOC &ndash; especially children and young adults &ndash; that this is a field for them.</li>
</ul>
<li aria-level="2">Tyrell Miller-Johnson&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="3">Central State University, Class of 2023&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Major: Psychology&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">He enlisted into the U.S. Army in 2017 after his high school graduation, and has deployed on missions to help others affected by hurricanes, tornados, COVID-19 and other disasters/crises. One deployment involved his providing security for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. He plans to use his major to help educate teens and high-school students that the entire world is open to them and to teach them about college-alternative pathways such as learning a trade, becoming an entrepreneur, military service, etc.</li>
</ul>
<li aria-level="2">Erin Foster&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="3">Spelman College, Class of 2024&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Major: Political Science&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Fewer than 5% of federal judges are women of color. She plans to use her major to go to law school, become a federal judge and start removing the gender and racial disparities in the field.</li>
</ul>
<li aria-level="2">Jayla Imani Thornton&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="3">North Carolina A&amp;T State University, Class of 2024&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">Major: Political Science&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="3">She currently interns for Congresswoman Kathy Manning, and plans to use her major to go to law school and become a civil rights lawyer to combat and eradicate systemic racism and the oppression of minorities in America.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</ul>
The five Legends Scholars will receive a $10,000 academic scholarship from the NBRPA for the 2021-22 school year. In addition to addressing the financial needs of Legends Scholars, a comprehensive scholars program will assist Legends Scholars in the areas of career preparation and development, job placement and mentoring both during and after their undergraduate years.
The Legends HBCU Scholarship and Legends Scholars program was created in 2020 under the NBRPA&rsquo;s Legends Care initiative as a way to honor the rich history of HBCUs and their alums while moving the legacy forward by supporting current HBCU undergraduates.

In his first interview since becoming USA Basketball's managing director, Grant Hill discusses what's next for Team USA.

Grant Hill shares widespread excitement surrounding USA Basketball

Team USA still has not put together 40 solid minutes of basketball against a quality opponent. Maybe it will happen in the gold-medal game, or maybe not.
But the important thing is that the Americans will be in that game Sunday, on the final day of the Olympics, after defeating Australia 97-78 Thursday in the semifinal round.
Strange things happen in international basketball &mdash; things like the best American players in the world missing their first 10 three-point shots and falling into a huge hole. We have seen it time and again from this American team since training camp began in Las Vegas five weeks ago, and we have still not seen them dominate (with the exception of their games against overmatched opponents such as Iran and the Czech Republic).
Yet, here they are: One win away from accomplishing their goal, led by three-time Olympian Kevin Durant and facilitated most in this game by Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker among their cast of 10 first-time Olympians. Durant scored 23, Booker had 20 and Holiday finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
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23 points for KD! 🔥🔥🔥 Watch: <a href="https://t.co/e0jf8FvTyx">https://t.co/e0jf8FvTyx</a> <a href="https://t.co/g0qSphty0K">pic.twitter.com/g0qSphty0K</a>
&mdash; Peacock (@peacockTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/peacockTV/status/1423153445771563008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This game flipped in the third quarter, when the Americans outscored the Boomers on a 32-10 rout to turn this into something resembling a runaway &mdash; even though that word does not quite fit because there were almost no fast-break opportunities.
This game was a grind and devoid of suspense throughout the fourth quarter after the Americans took control with a strong effort on both ends of the court. When their defense locked up an Australian team that came out confident but could not sustain it, this game turned drastically.&nbsp;
The Americans trailed by as much as 15 in the first half and made it a one-possession game by halftime.
&ldquo;Once we got it down to three at halftime, I thought we had the game in hand,&rdquo; Durant said.&nbsp;
That quote shows the confidence level this version of Team USA possesses. They have been slow starters in pretty much every game they have played, yet they keep coming back and persevering and making bad starts become irrelevant by the time all 40 minutes have been played.
&ldquo;Guarding,&rdquo; Booker said of what made the difference. &ldquo;We talked about that in the locker room. Once we started doing that and playing defense, the shots were going to come.&rdquo;
The Americans finished with 10 steals and a 44-29 rebounding advantage. (After they had consistently been beaten on the boards in earlier games, both in Tokyo and prior to the Olympics during training camp in Las Vegas, that was perhaps the most surprising stat of their Olympics to this point). And despite the 0-for-10 start from three-point range, they finished 9-for-28 with Booker going 3-for-5 from deep.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all or nothing,&rdquo; Booker said of where the Olympic team stands.
And he is correct.
Either they finish the job Sunday and come home with gold medals around their necks, or they join an inglorious group of past iterations known by the destination cities of where they did not win: Moscow; Seoul; Athens.
A victory Sunday would make it four straight gold medals for Team USA, which would end the talk that the United States has lost its edge in being the best basketball-playing nation on the planet. Long gone are the days when squads like the Dream Team would leave opponents in awe. Pretty much every good international team is loaded with NBA players (Slovenia, other than Luka Doncic, is an exception), and what these games come down to is being able to withstand whatever happens early and play out the entire 40 minutes.
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Australia led 44-31 late in the second period as Durant missed a three, but Bam Adebayo grabbed an offensive rebound and Booker made a three. Offensive rebounds on their next two possessions led to made buckets, and Australia did not have a made-field goal over the final 3:50 of the second quarter.
&ldquo;It was a tale of two halves for us,&rdquo; Booker said.&nbsp;
The Americans seem to be developing most of their chemistry on the defensive end, and their effort there completely deflated the Aussies after the Boomers opened the game with confidence and swagger. Team USA made everything except bringing the ball up court difficult for them, and once Australia fell behind early in the second half, shoulders slumped, the rest of the players' body language followed and it was over.
&ldquo;When we came here all of us knew what it would take to be a great defensive team,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a team that plays together. We&rsquo;re a team that flies around and communicates on the defensive end. We&rsquo;re a team that can&rsquo;t be stopped one-on-one if we drive into the lane.
&ldquo;If we keep those principles in line, we&rsquo;ll be straight. We&rsquo;re looking forward to seeing who we&rsquo;ll play,&rdquo; Durant said.
One left. Gold or silver.&nbsp;
Or as Booker put it, all or nothing.&nbsp;
When you are the Team USA men&rsquo;s basketball team, success is defined by only one color... and it is not silver.

Chris Sheridan recaps the Americans' 97-78 victory over Australia as they await their opponent in the gold-medal game.

Team USA rallies vs. Australia to get to gold-medal game

Hold off on the hysteria, okay?
Team USA&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/united-states-loses-to-france-83-76-25-game-olympic-win-streak-ends" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loss to France</a> was a bad one, no question -- but it is not the end of the world. Heck, it is only the beginning of the Olympics.
They can recover from this. All they have to do is beat Iran and the Czech Republic (or lose one of those games, but advance on point differential) in the group phase. If that gets accomplished, Team USA will make it to the single-elimination quarterfinals. By then, the team should have developed some chemistry and cohesion. By then, we probably will not see the knee-knocking we saw late in the fourth quarter.
In a nutshell, this went wrong in the final minute when it could have gone either way.
Open three-pointer, miss.&nbsp;
Another open three-pointer, clang.&nbsp;
Yet another, and... even the friendly rims at Saitama SuperArena were unfriendly.&nbsp;
Team USA lost to France in its Olympic opener on Sunday not because they were outplayed, but because they could not shoot when it counted most. It was that simple. The very best team that the American federation could put together could not hit a shot when it mattered.
It had been 17 years since the United States lost a game at an Olympics, and that one &ndash; a 19-point loss to Puerto Rico in the Americans' debut at the Athens Olympics&mdash;was far more putrid than this one. But what was most disconcerting about this loss was that Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday all missed wide-open looks with about 30 seconds remaining and the Americans trailing by two.&nbsp;
After the last miss, Lillard was called for an unsportmanlike foul for inadvertently tripping Evan Fournier. His free throw, and two subsequent free throws by Rudy Gobert, finished off a 14-0 fourth-quarter run for France, and now Gregg Popovich has to figure out a way to get his players to shake this one off -- no matter how much their collective pride is wounded.
"When you lose a game, you're not surprised. You're disappointed. I don't understand the word 'surprised.' That sort of disses the French team, as if we're supposed to beat them by 30. That's a hell of a team," Popovich said in a postgame news conference.
This was only a pool play game, and although a gold medal seems out of the Americans' reach given the way they played in their opener, there's one important thing to keep in mind: The Olympics are far from over. They have just begun. And even when the Americans lost to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the 2004 Athens Games, they were still alive for a gold medal until losing to Argentina in the semifinals.
This loss was inglorious, for sure. But for Team USA, there is the undeniable fact that it is lacking in harmony after Holiday and Devin Booker (and Khris Middleton, who only played 5 &frac12; minutes) just joined the team late Saturday night; they have plenty of time to practice together with the new additions, and the goal here is not to win every game. It is to win the last three.
&ldquo;This was my first day,&rdquo; Holiday said. &ldquo;Literally, my first day.&rdquo;
Lillard missed 7 of his 10 shots, and six of those were from three-point range. Durant was saddled with foul trouble (he got four quick ones, and FIBA rules carry a disqualification for a fifth) and shot just 4-for-12, including 1-for-6 on threes. Booker was 0-for-2 from downtown. Jayson Tatum was 1-for-5.&nbsp;
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So the French have something to be happy about, and Celtics fans can at least take some solace in the fact that Evan Fournier (28 points) is capable of greatness. This was France&rsquo;s second straight victory over the Americans -- they also defeated them at the 2019 World Cup of Basketball in China. But the French did not win that tournament, Spain did. The Spanish have not even played yet in Tokyo, nor has Slovenia (led by Luka Doncic) or Argentina or the host country, Japan.
This tournament is about playing your best at the end, not at the beginning. So dismiss Team USA at your own peril. They still have the most talent 1-through-12; it will be a matter of Coach Popovich and his assistants, Lloyd Pierce and Steve Kerr, figuring out what is the right rotation for any particular opponent.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Don't get too high; don&rsquo;t get too low,&rdquo; Holiday said in relaying Popovich&rsquo;s postgame message. &ldquo;We have to put teams away.&rdquo;
&ldquo;This is the first time we&rsquo;ve played together, and all of us have been through adversity,&rdquo; Holiday added, noting twice that the Molten ball used in FIBA competitions is quite different from the Spalding ball used in the NBA. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll accomplish this, too. We&rsquo;re smart players with good character. We&rsquo;ll figure it out.&rdquo;
The Americans&rsquo; lack of size was exploited by French head coach Vincent Collet in the third quarter, as he played big men Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier together in a Twin Towers lineup that kept this thing close. It allowed France to stick around so that the game would be decided in the final minutes.
The biggest hustle play came from Guerschon Yabusele when he dove to the ground and saved a ball from going out of bounds in front of the American bench, tipping it to Fournier for a three-pointer that gave France a 76-74 lead. The Americans kept doing the same things wrong on offense &ndash; jacking up threes instead of driving and dishing and/or drawing fouls; Team USA did not have a single field goal after Zach LaVine made one with 4:21 left in the game.
So this was bad, but it was not a disaster.&nbsp;
Again, the goal is not to win every game. It is to win the final three games. Perhaps Team USA can do it, and perhaps NBC will show it.
But Sunday showed us that nothing in these Olympics is certain.

Chris Sheridan analyzes the Americans' loss to France in their Olympic opener and why Team USA isn't out of it yet.

Pump the brakes: Team USA can recover from loss to France

For the first time since 2004, the U.S. men&rsquo;s basketball team has lost in the Olympics. And the Americans&rsquo; quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal is already in serious trouble.
France &mdash; the team that knocked the Americans out of contention in the Basketball World Cup two years ago &mdash; dealt the U.S. a major blow once again. Evan Fournier&rsquo;s 3-pointer with just under a minute left put France ahead to stay in what became a 83-76 win over the Americans on Sunday in the opening game for both teams at the Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. had won 25 consecutive Olympic games, last losing at the Athens Games 17 years ago and settling for a bronze medal there.
Fournier had 28 points for France, while Rudy Gobert scored 14 and Nando de Colo had 13. Jrue Holiday had 18 points for the U.S., Bam Adebayo had 12, Damian Lillard 11 and Kevin Durant had 10 for the Americans &mdash; who are just 2-3 in their games this summer, the first four of them exhibitions in Las Vegas that weren&rsquo;t supposed to mean much.
The Olympics, they were supposed to be different.
They weren&rsquo;t. Going back to the World Cup in China two years ago, the Americans are 3-5 in their last eight games with NBA players in the lineup.
A 10-point U.S. lead in the third quarter was wasted, and so was a 12-point barrage from Holiday in the opening 4 &frac12; minutes of the fourth quarter as the Americans went from six points down to start the period to six points up with 5:23 remaining.
The loss doesn&rsquo;t knock the U.S. out of medal contention, but it essentially eliminates the margin for error. The Americans play Iran on Wednesday and then the Czech Republic on Saturday in its final two Group A games; win both of those, and the U.S. will be in the quarterfinals. Lose another one, and the Americans might not even finish in the top eight of this 12-team tournament.
The lead was 10 for the U.S. early in the third quarter after Durant scored the opening basket of the second half. But the offense went into a complete sputter for much of that period -- and that, combined with Durant&rsquo;s foul trouble, led to big problems.
The Americans scored three points in a seven-minute span of the third, Durant picked up his fourth foul &mdash; the FIBA limit is five, remember &mdash; with 16:45 left in the game, and that once-comfortable lead was soon gone. De Colo&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:42 remaining in the third put France up 55-54, its first lead since the game&rsquo;s first four minutes.
De Colo connected again for a 59-56 lead, then Thomas Huertel made another 3 late in the third to put France up 62-56 going to the final quarter.
It was the first time the U.S. and France played since the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup two years ago, a game that the Americans lost. France has seven players on its Olympic roster from that team; the U.S. has only two, but the importance wasn&rsquo;t lost on the other 10 &mdash; who&rsquo;d heard plenty about it.
The U.S. was outrebounded in that game 44-28, gave up 22 points off turnovers and got outscored 22-5 in the final 7 &frac12; minutes. The final was France 89, U.S. 79, a loss that eliminated the Americans from medal contention and sent them freefalling to a seventh-place finish that was the worst ever by USA Basketball in any tournament with NBA players.
And in a largely empty arena near Tokyo on Sunday night, France did it again &mdash; dealing the U.S. an even bigger blow.
TIP-INS
France: Frank Ntilikina missed the game, with the French federation saying he continues to deal with &ldquo;slight muscle discomfort.&rdquo; ... France took the game&rsquo;s first nine free throws. The U.S. didn&rsquo;t shoot one until JaVale McGee went to the line with 8:27 left in the second quarter. ... Guerschon Yabusele left the game briefly with 1:30 left in the half after going knee-to-knee with Holiday.
USA: Durant had three fouls in the first half, something that&rsquo;s happened only 10 times in his last 544 NBA appearances. ... The U.S. used 11 of its players in the first half, with Jerami Grant the only one who didn&rsquo;t get into the game.
MOVING UP
Durant moved into outright possession of the No. 4 spot on the U.S. men&rsquo;s all-time Olympic appearances list. He&rsquo;s now played in 17 games, behind only Carmelo Anthony (31), LeBron James (24) and David Robinson (24). There are 15 players with 16 Olympic appearances.
UP NEXT
France: Face the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
USA: Face Iran on Wednesday.

For the first time since 2004, the U.S. men’s basketball team has lost in the Olympics.

US loses to France 83-76, 25-game Olympic win streak ends

Metta World Peace opens up about Suns-Bucks, gambling in the NBA, why he wants a spot on Team USA and more.

Q&A: Metta World Peace on the Finals, Team USA, gambling in the NBA

USA Basketball finally made it look easy again.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 17 points and the Americans took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 in Las Vegas on Tuesday to avoid what would have been the first three-game losing streak in this era of NBA players being able to represent USA Basketball on the international stage.
Zach LaVine scored 15 points for the U.S., which lost its first two games in Las Vegas to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/shocker-us-falls-to-nigeria-in-preolympic-opener" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nigeria </a>and&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-falls-again-this-time-9183-to-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australia</a>. The Americans shot 51%, scored 33 first-quarter points to get off and running and beat Argentina for the 10th-consecutive time since a loss at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
&ldquo;It was better,&rdquo; U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;Bit by bit, every day, I hope.&rdquo;
Damian Lillard scored 13 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for the U.S.
&ldquo;Just really locked in,&rdquo; Adebayo said.
Luis Scola, set to play in the Olympics for a fifth time, scored 16 points in 19 minutes for Argentina. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 13, Facundo Campazzo had 12 and Gabriel Deck added 10.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a big deal,&rdquo; Argentina&rsquo;s Luca Vildoza said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only a loss.&rdquo;
The U.S. played with only eight members of the Olympic team. Jayson Tatum was held out with right knee soreness and will be day-to-day going forward, USA Basketball said. The Americans also will be without Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker until at least this weekend because of the NBA Finals.
The back-to-back losses to start the U.S. team&rsquo;s stay in Las Vegas raised the possibility that the Americans might lose three in a row with NBA players for the first time.
If those thoughts truly existed, they didn&rsquo;t last for long.
&ldquo;Our biggest thing is we have to realize it&rsquo;s not the NBA and Coach Pop keeps re-emphasizing that every single day,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s way more physical. Guys are smarter. These guys have been playing together for five-, 10-plus years. So they have the experience and the chemistry and we&rsquo;re trying to develop that in a short period of time.&rdquo;
It was 15-4 USA before the game was even three-and-a-half minutes old, and the lead was as much as 17 later in the opening quarter &mdash; the biggest leads for the Americans in the first two games were 10 against Nigeria and 11 against Australia &mdash; and the outcome was never really in doubt.
&ldquo;The USA played great,&rdquo; Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. &ldquo;They played more aggressive defense than they had the last two games.&rdquo;
The Americans held a 58-42 lead at the half when Durant beat the buzzer with an 18-footer, a shot that Draymond Green was celebrating before the ball even swished through the net.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to make shots all the time,&rdquo; Durant said in a televised halftime interview. &ldquo;But if we continue to guard the way we are, it&rsquo;ll start to turn for us on offense... When we keep the ball in front and we get stops and rebounds, then we pretty much can play with a clean slate on the offensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
The U.S. won the rebound battle 40-34, committed only nine turnovers and held Argentina to 31% shooting &mdash; 9 for 29 &mdash; from 3-point range.
&ldquo;Today we got better,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;Still a lot we can improve on, but we&rsquo;re moving in the right direction.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Argentina: Campazzo was shaken up late in the first quarter after taking a hard screen, but was able to eventually return to the game. ... Argentina went 0-3 in Las Vegas, losing 87-84 in its opener against Australia on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Patty Mills and then falling 94-71 to Nigeria on Monday.
USA: The Americans used all 15 of their available players. ... Kevin Love, who played only 3:01 in the in the Nigeria game and didn&rsquo;t play against Australia, was among the first-quarter subs on Tuesday. ... Even after the losses to Nigeria and Australia,&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/basketball/international-friendly-men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FanDuel Sportsbook had the Americans as 18.5-point favorites</a>&nbsp;entering the game.
DOUBLING UP
The U.S. Olympic women&rsquo;s team begins taking the stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday, starting with the WNBA All-Star Game. The U.S. men and women both play Australia on Friday, before the men close their Las Vegas stay on Sunday against Spain and the women play Nigeria. The American teams will fly together to Tokyo on Monday.
POP TALK
Popovich is friends with Hernandez, and the two have spoken often during their stay in Las Vegas, and Hernandez said &ldquo;today was a special day&rdquo; as he coached against one of his idols. Argentina assistant coaches Silvio Santander and Maxi Seigorman have joined some of those postgame chats in Vegas with Popovich as well. &ldquo;Pop is a teacher for everyone. And an inspiration,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/cabboficial/status/1415024382292996099?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Argentine officials wrote on the team&rsquo;s Twitter account</a>&nbsp;while posting a photo of one of the get-togethers.
UP NEXT
Argentina: Expected to play Iran in Tokyo next week before the Olympics.
USA: Faces Australia in Las Vegas on Friday.

Kevin Durant and Brad Beal each scored 17 points and Team USA took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 on Tuesday.

USA bounces back, tops Argentina 108-80 in pre-Tokyo tune-up

The field for men&rsquo;s basketball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is set.
Following an unlikely victory over a Team Canada squad packed with NBA players, the Czech Republic defeated Greece and won a spot in Team USA&rsquo;s group in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament stage.
Canada&rsquo;s national team, which included Andrew Wiggins of Golden State for the first time, was eliminated by the Czechs 103-101 in overtime on Saturday night on a buzzer-beating game winner by Tomas Satoransky with 0.9 seconds left.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🇨🇿 <a href="https://twitter.com/satoransky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@satoransky</a> banks it to give Czech Republic the win over Canada in OT and advance to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAOQT</a> Final! <a href="https://t.co/b6rrI4SFuu">pic.twitter.com/b6rrI4SFuu</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1411451753271152640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Then on Sunday, the Czechs won 97-82 over Greece. The Greeks cut their deficit to five points in the third before the Czechs outscored them 29-7 during the rest of the frame. Jan Vesely had 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
The Czechs will be going to the Olympics for the first time since the formation of their country in 1993, and it's the first time it will be a part of the Games since 1980, when it was a part of Czechoslovakia.
"They're a veteran team that took advantage of us in a lot of different areas. They dominated us on the glass 35-23, their assists were 25-12. The effort was there, but the game wasn't. But that's due to the brilliance of the Czech Republic. They were just much better than us," Greece head coach Rick Pitino said.
Keep that upset in mind when the Olympic Games begin, because strange things happen in FIBA tournaments.
Slovenia, Germany and Italy also qualified for the Tokyo Games, which begin July 24. Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s loaded Team USA plays its first game July 25 against France. The Americans are locks to get to the knockout phase, set to play the Czech Republic and Iran in the Group Phase, and their side of the quarterfinal bracket will include opponents to be determined after a draw on Aug. 2.
Based upon the qualifying tournaments, Slovenia will be one of the toughest opponents simply because they have Luka Doncic. The Dallas Mavericks star took MVP honors in Kaunas, Lithuania on Sunday after putting up a triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in front of 11,561 fans at the Zalgiris Arena in a 96-85 victory over Lithuania.
"We're making history for our country," Doncic said. "We can just go up from here."
Slovenia is going to the Olympics for the first time, knocking out a Lithuania team that has been qualifying for the Olympics and the World Championship/World Cup with regularity for three-and-a-half-decades. Doncic&rsquo;s teammates carried him off the court on their shoulders following the victory, which was fueled by a 14-0 run after Lithuania closed to 71-69.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🎵 M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P! 🎵 A historic night for <a href="https://twitter.com/luka7doncic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@luka7doncic</a>, who helps 🇸🇮 book a ticket to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> with a triple-double performance! ✈️ 📊 31 PTS 11 REB 13 AST | 42 EFF <a href="https://t.co/QAXqv8AfwO">pic.twitter.com/QAXqv8AfwO</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1411765468545753092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

"I don't care about the MVP," Doncic said. "We won here. We're going to the Olympics, the first time in our country. It's amazing. I think every kid dreams about being in the Olympics. I did, too. So, here we are. We fought really, really hard, and I think we deserve to be here."
Slovenia will play Argentina on July 26, Japan on July 29 and reigning World Cup champion Spain on Aug. 1. The top two teams in each group, plus two wild cards, will make the Olympic quarterfinals.
The qualifying tournaments were played in Canada, Lithuania and Croatia, and all of the home teams failed to qualify. Croatia did not even make it to the final game, getting eliminated by Germany 86-76 on Saturday before Germany defeated Brazil 75-64 on Sunday in the Olympic qualification game.&nbsp;
Brazil, which qualified for London 2012 and hosted Rio 2016, won its first three games by 26, 27 and 28 points, but Germany got 28 points from Moritz Wagner of the Orlando Magic and several crucial defensive possessions in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset. Isaac Bonga of the Washington Wizards did not play. Germany will be grouped with Italy, Nigeria and Australia in Tokyo.&nbsp;
The Aussies, aka the &ldquo;Boomers,&rdquo; have added Matisse Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers to a squad that already includes NBA players Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova and Patrick Mills.
In Belgrade, Achille Polonara, who plays for Fenerbahce in Turkey, picked up MVP honors after scoring 22 points with 12 rebounds, as Italy defeated home-team Serbia 102-95 in the final match. Italy will be heading to the Olympics for the 13th time, but the first since 2004 in Athens when it picked up the silver medal after losing to gold medalist Argentina.
The Serbians took the defeat hard.
"This is not a failure, this is a disaster. We wanted to make the people happy. I have to apologize for this. With this approach and this game, we do not deserve to go to the Olympic Games,&rdquo; said Nemanja Bjelica of the Miami Heat.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, the MVP of the 2021 NBA season, opted not to play for the Serbian national team this summer.
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With the qualifiers over, here is the Olympic field:
<ul>
<li>Group A: United States, Iran, France, Czech Republic</li>
<li>Group B: Australia, Germany, Italy, Nigeria</li>
<li>Group C: Argentina, Japan, Slovenia, Spain</li>
</ul>
The Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball tournament begins July 24, and Team USA&rsquo;s first game will come against France at 8 a.m. EDT on July 25. The Americans play Iran on July 28 and the Czech Republic on July 31. The quarterfinals begin Monday, Aug. 2, and the gold medal game is Aug. 7 at the Saitama SuperArena.&nbsp;
Team USA opens training camp Tuesday with one of its <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-us-olympic-mens-basketball-team-2020-tokyo-olympics-games-japan-fiba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strongest rosters ever</a>. Alphabetically, it is Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls, Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blzers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jason Tatum (Boston Celtics). Gregg Popovich of the Spurs is the head coach.
On Saturday, Nigeria will play Team USA at 8 p.m. EDT at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in the first of five exhibition games before leaving for Japan. If Booker, Middleton and Holiday go to a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, they will be flown to Tokyo by the American federation in time to be ready for the first game, outgoing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/boredom-is-one-enemy-team-usa-must-fight-at-2020-tokyo-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said last week</a>.

Chris Sheridan recaps this past weekend's qualifying round in FIBA men's basketball for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Team USA to face Czech Republic at Tokyo Olympics after stunner in Canada

Team USA's first game is against France; the first battle is against the clock.
Too much time and too few games &ndash; six in 17 days. That leaves an awful lot of downtime for Team USA later this summer at the Tokyo Olympics, and team director Jerry Colangelo is going to have to get creative to keep his players sane halfway around the world.
&ldquo;We need to keep ourselves staying busy. You don&rsquo;t want them sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. That&rsquo;s just not going to work,&rdquo; Colangelo said Monday while formally announcing the 12-man roster that will represent the United States.
It is one of the best rosters <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-us-olympic-mens-basketball-team-2020-tokyo-olympics-games-japan-fiba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team USA has ever put together</a>. Alphabetically, it is Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The coaching staff is led by Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Lloyd Pierce.
Nobody will be able to compete with these guys, correct?&nbsp;
Well, they say that every time Team USA puts a squad together, and then strange things happen in the unlikeliest of places. It was a mere two years ago that the Americans finished seventh at the 2019 World Cup in China, defeating Poland for that honor. Their prior game was a loss to Serbia, which was preceded by a loss to France.&nbsp;
And of all the places for Colangelo to bring his final version of Team USA (he is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-team-usa-roster-director-jerry-colangelo-gregg-popovich-2021-tokyo-japan-olympics-ioc-fiba-international-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepping down</a> after the Olympics and handing over the reins to Grant Hill), the Olympic tournament will be held in Saitama, Japan, where Colangelo&rsquo;s first team -- which included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh -- was unceremoniously upended by Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship.
&ldquo;The loss to Greece stuck with us, both myself and Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) for a long time, but we can&rsquo;t think that way,&rdquo; Colangelo said of returning to the site of that debacle. &ldquo;An arena is an arena. It&rsquo;s still 94 feet by 50 feet. So I have no problem with going back to the same arena.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_13213886_lg.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="392" />
Booker, Holiday and Middleton face the possibility of participating in a seven-game NBA Finals while the rest of the team is holding mini-camp in Las Vegas. The last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22, and the opening ceremony in Tokyo is July 23. Colangelo said the U.S. federation is already putting plans in place to get those players overseas quickly.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re young. They can sleep on the plane,&rdquo; Colangelo said.
"Booker called me maybe a month ago to express his great desire to be a part of the Olympics, and I knew that just because of the relationship, I didn't have to say a word," he added. "He said, 'If we get to the Finals and we go all the way, I'll be on the plane the next day and I'll be there. It doesn't matter.' When you're young, you can think that way."
As mentioned before, the Americans will play only six games over the course of their 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down the number of Olympic games from eight. Only the first two opponents, France and Iran, are known. The third opening-round opponent will be whoever wins the qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia that begins Tuesday. The six teams competing are Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and Uruguay.&nbsp;
What concerns Colangelo the most at this present time is finding ways to stay active and entertained once the team lands in Japan. The Olympics will be contested under a highly restrictive set of rules that continue to evolve, with organizers currently prohibiting foreigners from using public transportation, interacting with Japanese citizens and straying from pre-planned activity schedules.
Colangelo said &ldquo;it is not really a bubble,&rdquo; which is somewhat true. But as a practical matter, finding things to do away from the Tokyo Hilton while also staying within the rules will be a challenge.
As loaded as the U.S. roster is, there is always a learning curve when it comes to playing in FIBA competitions, where the referees typically let things get very physical. NBA players are not going to get favorable whistles if a defender crowds their landing area when attempting a three-point shot. The games sometimes resemble another Olympic sport, Greco-Roman wrestling, and the physicality will come as a surprise to viewers in the United States who have not watched an Olympics basketball game since the Games were held in Rio in 2016.&nbsp;
The American roster is also somewhat devoid of size, with Adebayo being the only true center. Rudy Gobert of France and Hamed Haddadi of Iran will be the first two centers the Americans will have to contain. Teams from other nations will also keep a close eye on how the Americans are defending the pick-and-roll, because history has shown that if the Americans are not fighting over picks, then the opposition can easily find open three-pointers.
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Greece did that against Team USA in the 2006 World Championship, and the game got away from the Americans before they knew what hit them. As loaded as Team USA's roster is, there is only one ball, and only five players can be on the court at the same time.
This roster is stacked with shooters and scorers, showing that the Americans realize they are going to have to simply outscore each and every opponent, overwhelming them with offense. But historically, problems have arisen when the five-man unit on the floor is unaccustomed to playing with one another, something the U.S. federation hopes to alleviate by playing five exhibition games in Las Vegas after camp opens on July 6.&nbsp;
The opponents are Nigeria on July 10 (8 p.m. EDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (8 p.m. EDT); Argentina on July 13 (6 p.m. EDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (6 p.m. EDT); and Spain on July 18 (9 p.m. EDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay.
The U.S. Men's Team has collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which it has competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 all-time record (.965 winning percentage) in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze-medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third-oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as Team USA's leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt, with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 points per game). He ranks second all-time for points scored, trailing only Carmelo Anthony (336) by 25 points.

Team USA will play only six games over the course of 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down on the number of Olympic games.

Boredom is one enemy Team USA must fight at Olympics

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team.&nbsp;
Selected for the U.S. Olympic Team 2020, which is seeking a fourth consecutive Olympic title, were: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Durant, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The USA coaching staff is led by head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Jerry Colangelo serving as the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for the selected players and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with this wonderful group when practice gets underway on July 6 in Las Vegas,&rdquo; said Popovich. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to represent the United States in our quest to earn a gold medal in Tokyo.&rdquo;
The U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee.
&ldquo;We are excited about the 12 players who have been selected to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics,&rdquo; said Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team since 2005. &ldquo;This was an unusually challenging selection process for many reasons, including the year postponement of the Olympics and the issues related to the timing of the NBA regular season and playoffs.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our roster features players who are experienced in the international game, and this team has outstanding athleticism, versatility and balance. We also believe we have excellent leadership which is a necessity in order to develop the needed chemistry. We still have a lot of challenges in front of us, but I believe these players will become a team that all Americans will be proud of.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The U.S. roster features the return of Olympic gold medalists Durant, Green and Love. Durant and Green were members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist squad and Durant and Love were 2012 Olympic gold medalists. Durant and Love were also part of the 2010 USA team that went 9-0 and captured the FIBA World Cup title, and Middleton and Tatum were members of the 2019 USA World Cup Team.&nbsp;
&ldquo;USA Basketball selects players to represent our country in international competition with the skills, character, experience, and desire to win,&rdquo; said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors.. &ldquo;We build teams that are versatile and resilient in the short, intense competitions we face. We&rsquo;re fortunate that this group of elite athletes has volunteered to represent us in Tokyo this summer.&rdquo;
With his selection to the U.S. Olympic Team, Durant becomes just the fourth United States male basketball player selected to three or more Olympic teams. Carmelo Anthony (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) has represented and medaled for a USA men&rsquo;s record four Olympics, while LeBron James (2004, 2008, 2012) and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) each have three Olympic medals in as many appearances.&nbsp;
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as the U.S. team&rsquo;s leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt and with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 ppg.), ranks second all-time for points scored,trailing only Anthony (336) by 25 points.&nbsp;
Durant in USA all-time career Olympics statistics lists first for points averaged (19.4), tied for fourth for games played (16), fifth for rebounds (86), third for most field goals made (101), third for field goals attempted (191), first for 3-point field goals made (59), second for 3-point field goals attempted (108), fourth for 3-point shooting percentage (.546%), second for free throws made (50), fourth for free throws attempted (59), 11th for assists (49), eighth for blocked shots (9) and ninth for steals (21).
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Included among the named U.S. Olympians were 2021 All-NBA second team selection Lillard, and third team pick Beal. Additionally, Green and Holiday collected 2021 NBA All-Defensive first team honors, while Adebayo was a second team selection. Four USA players &ndash; Beal, LaVine, Lillard and Tatum -- were named as 2021 NBA All-Stars.
After opening training camp on July 6, the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will tip off a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (5 p.m. PDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (5 p.m. PDT); Argentina on July 13 (3 p.m. PDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (3 p.m. PDT); and Spain on July 18 (6 p.m. PDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. Ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.
The U.S. men have collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which they have competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 (.965 winning percentage) all-time record in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
The rescheduled Summer Olympic Games are being held July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan. Twelve nations will compete in the Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball competition that will be held at the Saitama Super Arena. In addition to host Japan, nations qualified for the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball competition include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and the United States.&nbsp;
The final four teams for the Tokyo Olympics will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Twenty-four teams will compete in the four men's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which will be held from June 29-July 4, in Victoria, Canada; Split, Croatia; Kaunas, Lithuania; and Belgrade, Serbia. The winner of each qualifying tournament will qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Men&rsquo;s basketball preliminary play at the Olympics, which will see the 12 teams divided into three groups of four teams each, will be held July 25-Aug. 2. The quarterfinals, featuring teams placed first and second in each preliminary group and the two best third-placed teams, is scheduled for Aug. 3. Semifinal action will be played on Aug. 5. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 7.
The draw for the Tokyo Olympics men&rsquo;s basketball competition was held Feb. 2, and the U.S. was drawn into Group A alongside 2019 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist France, 2017 Asia Cup runner-up Iran, and the to-be-determined winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada. The American men will open Olympic preliminary round play on July 25, against France (8 a.m. EDT), then will play Iran on July 28 (12:40 a.m. EDT) and will close out preliminary play on July 31 (8:00 a.m. EDT) versus the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada.
A draw will take place following the conclusion of the group phase to determine the pairings of the quarterfinals. The winners of the groups and the second-placed team with the best result from the Group Phase are placed in one pot (D), while the two remaining second-placed teams and two best third-placed teams in another pot (E). Teams from the same group in the Group Phase cannot be drawn against each other in the quarterfinals. This stage of the competition is played in a knockout format, and the draw will produce an Olympic bracket for the road to the gold medal.
To be crowned Olympic champion in 2021, a team has to play six games - three in the group phase and three in the Final Phase (quarterfinals, semifinals, gold medal game), instead of eight games as in past Olympics.
2020 U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team
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About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee (USOPC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five, 3x3 and esport international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball initiative that address player development, coach education and safety, while promoting, growing and elevating the game.
Connect with USA Basketball at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABJNT, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3), Instagram (@USABasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3) and YouTube.com/usabasketball.

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant, USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.

USA Basketball announces U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

Giannis Antetokounmpo was en route from Athens to Milwaukee this morning, as he's ready get back in the gym and prepare for the upcoming NBA season (after he quarantines, of course). The Bucks have been aggressive, landing two new teammates for Antetokounmpo: Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Russell Westbrook and James Harden want out of Houston, but they have no leverage when it comes to leaving. For all the talk of Harden wanting to get traded to Brooklyn, can his ball-dominant play be a fit alongside Kyrie Irving? Or, since the team is already widely regarded as a co-favorite along with Milwaukee to win the East, is Nets GM Sean Marks better off standing pat with depth at every position?
One league source said they won't be surprised if Westbrook is still with the Rockets when the season begins because his contract is so onerous. He'll be paid $41,358,814 in 2020-21, $44,211,146 in 2021-22 and he has a $47,063,478 player option in 2022-23. The New York Knicks are in need of star power and could try to acquire him, but Houston has no reason to rush a trade. Also, Michael Jordan is tired of being irrelevant, so expect the Charlotte Hornets to be among the Westbrook possibilities.
Who will be making the most noise tonight when the draft is held and Woj breaks out the euphemisms?
Despite reports to the contrary, BasketballNews.com's Alex Kennedy and I are hearing that the Atlanta Hawks are being aggressive and considering a number of win-now moves. League sources say they want to bring in some veterans to surround their young Big Three of Trae Young, John Collins and Clint Capela. They are loaded with cap room -- approximately $51 million -- and thus, can make uneven trades salary-wise. Also, they have the sixth pick in the draft, and they could look to trade the pick if it nets them a key contributor that complements their young nucleus. They still need a veteran to lead the youngsters, and there are a bunch of those out there in this free-agent class. Rajon Rondo seems like a good fit, for example. My colleague, Spencer Davies, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agents-players-2020-offseason">ranked all of the top free agents</a>, and the Hawks have the financial means to go out and get any of them. They may be the most active team tonight.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be hectic,&rdquo; colleague Matt Babcock said <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-2020-q-and-a-matt-babcock-offseason-trades">in this Q&amp;A with Kennedy</a>.
LaMalo Ball has been dropping in mock drafts recently. ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony dropped Ball from No. 1 to No. 3, and our Matt Babcock currently has him going No. 3 to the Charlotte Hornets as well, with USC's Onyeka Okongwu slotted No. 6 to Atlanta. If any of the other 29 teams are madly in love with the 6-foot-9 big man and he is still on the board at No. 6, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk may be able to start a bidding war and reap a bounty for that pick. Atlanta has the most cap room of any NBA team, and Schlenk is trying to put together a roster that will make the Hawks a playoff team for the first time since Mike Budenholzer was coaching them.&nbsp;
The Los Angeles Lakers have already made one major move, acquiring Dennis Schroder from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Danny Green and their 2020 first-round pick. But they could potentially lose Rondo in free agency, and we now know -- thanks to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-dwight-howard-earn-contract-free-agent-los-angeles-lakers-offseason-etan-thomas-the-rematch-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Etan Thomas&rsquo; podcast &ldquo;The Rematch&rdquo;</a> -- that Dwight Howard wants a better contract than the one he played under last season. It remains to be seen whether Avery Bradley and JaVale McGee will exercise their player options, and whether Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is retained as a free agent (as Los Angeles has his Bird rights).
As for the Milwaukee Bucks, giving up three first-round picks in the deal with New Orleans for Holiday shows how committed they are to changing the parts surrounding Giannis as they try to entice him to sign a supermax deal. But they now need a backup point guard along with a shooter to replace the departed George Hill, and they risk losing top defender Wes Mathews as an unrestricted free agent. So GM Jon Horst&rsquo;s work is not yet done.
The San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers are also said to be especially active in trying to shake up their rosters. The Blazers have already acquired Robert Covington to be their 3-and-D guy alongside starters Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins, so an upgrade at the 4 position seems to be their most likely next move. Because the Blazers are capped out, this would have to come through a trade or free-agent signing, and they have already dealt away the No. 16 pick. Portland may have to wait to see how the initial stages of free agency shake out, because there are some very good players who are going to get squeezed financially due to the dearth of available cap space (so it's possible that they could land a talented player with their mid-level exception).
Looming large in terms of teams that have enormous flexibility are the New York Knicks, who have the No. 8 pick and have become increasingly secondary in the New York market behind the Brooklyn Nets, which does not sit well with owner James Dolan. The Knicks have some $27 million in cap room, and new general manager Leon Rose has been playing his cards close to the vest throughout the summer and fall. (The Knicks also <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-new-york-knicks-trade-pick-27-38-for-pick-23-utah-jazz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved up to No. 23</a>, trading with the Utah Jazz).
And then we have the Toronto Raptors, who not only stand to lose two of their best players, Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka, but they also still do not know where they are going to play. Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Nashville are among the cities being mentioned as possibilities, even as team president Masai Ujiri is telling anyone who will listen that a way must be found to play at Scotiabank Arena.
We have already written about where the games may be played (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-considering-playing-regular-season-games-practice-facilities-g-league-arenas-control-costs-pandemic">practice facilities and G-League arenas are being considered</a>), and the NBA announced Wednesday night that only the first half of the schedule will be released around the start of training camp.&nbsp;
As with everything in 2020, the NBA world -- and the world at large -- is day-to-day, hour-to-hour.

As with everything in 2020, the NBA world -- and the world at large -- is day-to-day, hour-to-hour. Chris Sheridan breaks down the latest rumors.

NBA Draft Rumors: Some situations worth monitoring

Everything is different in 2020&hellip; until it isn&rsquo;t. Is it fair to say, as we all awake, that some things just never change? The sun always rises in the East, political news always riles people up and LeBron James wins big basketball games with phenomenal flair.
A year that began Jan. 1 with the death of former NBA commissioner David Stern and then brought the tragic end to Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s life on Jan. 26 is going to include a trip to the NBA Finals for the Los Angeles Lakers and the superstar we have watched in awe and bewilderment all the way to the championship round for the 10th time in his career.
We are all sitting home every night wondering when normalcy will return, and on Saturday night it did.
James was brilliant. Again. The Denver Nuggets were resilient. Again. And when clutch shots were needed to stave off a team that cheated basketball death so many times in the bubble, we all watched the old man with the gray-flecked pandemic beard knock down shot after shot after shot after shot.
The guy has been mesmerizing since he was a rookie. And he was the same way on Saturday night, especially in the fourth quarter - when he scored 16 points and made his final six buckets unassisted to finish off a virtuoso 27th career postseason triple-double, this one featuring 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. When it ended, it was both amusing and surreal to see purple and gold confetti falling from the rafters of the bubble just like what would have happened if this game was played at the Staples Center.
LeBron sat on the court, taking in the moment in front of a crowd of dozens instead of thousands.
&ldquo;I was thinking about some of my teammates who this is their first appearance to the Finals. Obviously, AD (Anthony Davis) had a lot on my thought process,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;This is the reason why I wanted to be a teammate of his and why I brought him here. I wanted him to see things that he had not seen before in this league. To be able to come through for him meant a lot for me personally.
&ldquo;Then I started thinking about the next opponent. Boston had a few moments in my head. Miami had a few moments in my head as well. How challenging that's going to be, whoever wins that series. Then, I just started thinking about my journey as well. All that was just going through my mind as the confetti was on the floor, was coming down, landing on my shoulder and things of that nature.&rdquo;
The Finals will begin Wednesday night if the Miami Heat finish off the Boston Celtics tonight or Friday night if the Celtics force a Game 7. So, LeBron will have downtime. He will be fresh. He will be motivated. In the meantime, he will probably be political. There&rsquo;s sort of an important presidential debate on Tuesday night that is going to change the tone of civility in the United States one way or another.
No matter who comes out of the East, the Lakers are going to be prohibitive favorites to win the franchise&rsquo;s 17th championship. We would all be talking about it around the water cooler if we were living normal lives, which we are not. The new normal is not always normal, as the saying goes.
But there is another saying that is fitting today, too. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
LeBron James is a player I have covered in several American cities and several major metropolitan cities around the world. I first met him at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan when he was getting ready to be the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, and I watched with his first agent, Aaron Goodwin, as James posed for the cameras at a photoshoot and appeared uncommonly comfortable in front of a camera for an 18-year-old.
&ldquo;See that watch he&rsquo;s wearing? That&rsquo;s a $100,000 watch,&rdquo; Goodwin told me as we waited. I got to spend some alone time with him thanks to the efforts of former NBA PR executive Teri Washington, and I asked him why he seemed so comfortable in front of a camera. He told me he had only been frightened by cameras once, in his sophomore year of high school when one of his games for St. Vincent-St. Mary&rsquo;s High School in Akron, OH was being televised for the first time.
His maturity was already off the charts. I subsequently watched him up close as he endured the growing pains of being harshly introduced to the alternate basketball universe known as FIBA basketball when he first represented Team USA at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He was playing under Larry Brown, who refused to start him, and the Americans&rsquo; first game of that Olympic tournament was a 19-point loss to Puerto Rico. Every time Brown would put James into the game, good things happened. And then LB would yank him.
Brown was stubborn. He refused to play James more than a few minutes here and there. Losses to Lithuania and Argentina followed. LeBron left Greece with a bronze medal, and it is safe to assume it is not in his trophy case at home. More likely it&rsquo;s in his sock drawer.
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More of the same came two years later in Japan at the World Championship when the Americans lost to Greece in the semifinals. But then came the 2008 Beijing Olympics two years later, and James teamed up with Kobe for the first time on what came to be known as the Redeem Team. A very, very close gold-medal game against Spain ended with Team USA winning the gold medal. Another gold came four years later in London, and another may be forthcoming next August if the Tokyo Olympics actually happen. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-team-usa-olympics-lebron-james-jerry-colangelo-adam-silver-schedule-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As reported on this site a couple days ago, James wants to play</a>.
But first things first. Another trip to the NBA Finals is upcoming, the ninth time in 10 years we will all watch this freak of nature cement his status as one of the greatest athletes of our time. The obstinate among us will turn their heads away, upset that the intersection of politics and sports has made athletes spokespeople for the folks in America who do not get a fair shake and must live every day in fear.
Some people will wallow in their misery and hatred and fear, and there is nothing the rest of us can do about it. Those folks live empty lives, as far as I am concerned. But they are our neighbors and our fellow citizens, and we have no choice but to tolerate their ignorance and loathing. It comes with the territory in this crazy year of 2020; and it will endure the years ahead.
But we can all take solace in the fact that James is not going anywhere anytime soon. His brilliance will be on display for at least four more games, hopefully for seven more games. He has not won the championship yet, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will not see from Erik Spoelstra or Brad Stevens the amount of single coverage that he saw in Game 5 against Denver.
Spoelstra, in particular, has some insight into what works and what doesn&rsquo;t work when it comes to all things LeBron. Spoelstra and Pat Riley played a major part in making James what he is today, a three-time NBA champion. They probably know a thing or two about how to get into his head, and we will find those things out if the Heat are the team coming out of the East.
In the meantime, we wait.
And we wonder what type of craziness awaits us next.
And we&rsquo;re trying to get though life one day at a time, hopefully staying safe and healthy and smart and sane. We are living in a year in which fear and anger surrounds us. Incompetence and idiocy have become normalized. Nobody is quite sure what any day will bring, but not many people expect it to be anything good.
But you know what? As we all get a day older, James remains somewhat of an ageless wonder. What he did on Saturday night is what is has been doing for 16 seasons&hellip; and there will be more to come. Kobe played for 20 seasons.&nbsp; LeBron is not hanging up his sneakers until he fulfills what he has described as the goal of his life: To play in an NBA game alongside his son, Bronny.
So life has its blessings. LeBron isn&rsquo;t going away. He isn&rsquo;t going to shut up and dribble. He is stubborn and stunning and stupefying. He brings joy to those of us who are not too pigheaded to turn away. He is mesmerizing. He makes you run out of superlatives.
He has seen his jersey burned by the fans in Cleveland whom he spurned&hellip; before he returned. He was embraced in Miami much the same way LakersNation is caressing him now. He clearly has a ton of basketball left in him, and today we celebrate the joy and wonder and rapture he can bring into all of our lives, even in the toughest of times.
&ldquo;I've never said, &lsquo;OK, I want to cast myself as a superstar or whatever the case may be.&rsquo; I just want to travel my own journey, because it is my journey,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I've appreciated everything that's happened along the way. I mean, throughout -- the ups, the downs, the ups on the court, the downs on the court, the wins and losses&hellip; But I've been able to, I guess as Frank Sinatra would say, &lsquo;I did it my way.&rsquo; At the end of the day and at the end of my career, I just hope that I inspire enough people. At the end of the day, all you have is your respect.&rdquo;
He has earned everyone&rsquo;s. Again. Thanks, LBJ.

Chris Sheridan, who has covered LeBron James since he was drafted in 2003, marvels at James' continued dominance at 35 years old.

Jathen