They’re going for gold.
The 2024 Olympics are officially here, and the athletes and teams are off and running, save for the Team USA men’s soccer squad. But we can forget about them for a while. The Golden State Warriors are well represented in Paris, as the Team USA men’s basketball team is led in part by Steph Curry and coached by Steve Kerr. Visions of gold medals dance in their heads!
We now know the schedule for the first week of action, if you want to see the country’s greatest men’s basketball players in action a few months before the next NBA season begins.
Curry and LeBron James and Co. start the fun on Sunday, July 28, with an 8:15 a.m. PT game against Serbia. That’s one hell of a test, as Serbia is a team favored by most to win a medal. They’re led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, as well as sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanović. Given how poorly Team USA has looked in exhibition play, this will be a serious test, and Team USA will not want to fall behind the eight-ball by losing their first game.
Next up is a rematch against South Sudan on Wednesday, July 31, at 12:00 p.m. PT. In theory, that should be a very easy game for Team USA, but their recent exhibition match quite literally came down to the last second.
And rounding out group play is a contest against Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico on Saturday, August 3, at 8:15 p.m. PT. Puerto Rico has given Team USA some fits in the past!
That rounds out group play, where the Americans are in Group C (Group A is Australia, Canada, Greece, and Spain, while Group B is Brazil, France, Germany, and Japan). The top two teams from each group will advance, with the quarterfinals on August 6, semifinals on August 8, and championship on April 10.