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When you consider the vast majority of talent in the NBA hails from the country where James Naismith dreamed up the concept of basketball in 1891, it’s not a huge shock that the United States has traditionally dominated the sport since it made its Summer Olympics debut in Berlin in 1936.
As things currently stand, the men’s teams that have suited up for Team USA have won 16 of the 19 tournaments they’ve competed in at the Olympics, and the guys representing the Stars and Stripes will be looking to extend an unbeaten streak stretching back to 2008 in the hopes of securing the country’s fifth consecutive gold medal in Paris in 2024.
It’s hard to imagine any group of players will be ever able to match the caliber of talent possessed by the squad that was rightfully dubbed the “Dream Team” ahead of the Summer Olympics in 1992, as Christian Laetner is the only player on that roster who wasn’t eventually inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for their individual prowess.
It’s currently unclear who will be representing Team USA at the 2024 Olympics, but I think most basketball fans would agree they’re hoping to see some upgrades after head coach Steve Kerr opted to eschew some of the biggest names in the NBA in favor of the young and fairly unproven talent that will be participating at the FIBA World Cup later this month (where they’ll hope to bounce back from a disappointing 7th place finish in 2019).
Kerr opted to forgo tryouts in favor of handpicking the 12 men who recently wrapped up their training camp in Las Vegas (where Jaren Jackson Jr. apparently made quite an impression).
Only time will tell how they’ll fare against the international competition that will greet them in Japan and the Philippines, but it’s safe to say Gilbert Arenas isn’t super high on the squad based on the thoughts he shared while discussing the roster during a recent conversation with Trae Young.
Here’s what Agent Zero had to say about the group and the selection process that brought them together:
“You see that list they got, man? Sorry-a** group.
Listen, I’m happy for the people who make it. It’s cool for some of the guys who got there—that I don’t know. Some of them probably don’t even start on their team. I don’t want to look at it.
It’s embarrassing sometimes where you have star players that really do want to participate and you just automatically say, ‘Eh, he’s not going to fit our style.’ How the f*** do you know if he’s going to fit the style or not if you didn’t give the man a chance?
There’s a reason there’s a tryout. Invite us all and let us show you we can adapt. We didn’t get to this level because we didn’t adapt.
We adapted very well, so don’t judge me for how I’m playing on my team. Let me show you what I can do around other players.”
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if they have what it takes.