2024 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The men's national basketball team of the United States is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. They qualified for the Olympics as one of the top two FIBA Basketball World Cup finishers from the Americas in 2023. The Americans have won the gold medal at the previous four Olympics.

The team includes four National Basketball Association (NBA) players who have won its league most valuable player (MVP) award—LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid—an Olympic first.

Timeline

 * January 23, 2024 41 finalists announced
 * April 17 12-man roster named
 * July 5 Start of training camp
 * July 10–22 Exhibition games
 * July 28 – August 11 2024 Summer Olympics

Roster
After the 2023 U.S. World Cup team finished in fourth place, the first time since 1970 that Team USA failed to medal in consecutive World Cups, USA Basketball executive director Grant Hill and head coach Steve Kerr tried to persuade more experienced players to join the Olympic team. Seven of its players have prior Olympic experience, the most of any U.S. Olympic team. It will be the oldest U.S. men's basketball team, averaging 30 years and 9 months when the Games start, surpassing the 1996 team's average of 29 years, 10 months old.

The American squad includes 11 players who have been NBA All-Stars, three former NBA Finals MVPs and seven players who have won NBA championships. Joel Embiid, who had the opportunity to play for his native country Cameroon as well as France, was motivated to choose the United States because of his son, who was born an American in 2020. His addition addressed the lack of size and defense on the 2023 World Cup team. However, he had missed over half of the 2023–24 NBA regular season and played with a knee injury in the playoffs.

Six-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard had missed the final eight regular-season games for the Los Angeles Clippers and four of their six first-round playoff games with a right knee inflammation. On July 10, 2024, before Team USA's first exhibition, Leonard was replaced on the roster with Derrick White of the Boston Celtics. According to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, Leonard wanted to stay with the squad, and the Clippers were supportive, but it was USA Basketball's decision. "I really wish they would have given Kawhi more time", said Frank. With Leonard, the United States team would have included 11 players who were All-Stars in 2024 as well as a combined 84 All-Star selections, the most ever in the Olympics. They also would have been the second Olympic team filled entirely with former All-Stars, joining the 1996 U.S. team. Three-time All-Star Jaylen Brown of the Celtics believed that he was passed over as Leonard's replacement in part due to Nike's influence. Brown had been critical of the company in the past, and White, Brown's Boston teammate, is a Nike-sponsored athlete.

The following were also candidates to make the team:

Canada
The United States won their exhibition opener 86–72 over Canada. Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 13 points. The Americans began the game shooting 0 for 6, but overcame an early 11–1 deficit to lead 41–33 at halftime. They expanded their lead to 69–54 after three quarters. Team USA played without Kevin Durant, who was out with a calf strain that he suffered in a workout before training camp, and Derrick White, who had not joined the team yet after replacing Kawhi Leonard on the squad.

Australia
Anthony Davis scored 17 points and had 14 rebounds in Team USA's 98–92 win over Australia. The Americans were up by 24 points in third quarter, but the Australians pulled to within five points with 5:05 remaining in the game after outscoring the United States 39–21. Twice Australia cut the deficit to four points, but Devin Booker was a perfect four of four on free throws in the final eight seconds to secure the win.

U.S. coach Steve Kerr started two new players—Edwards and Jayson Tatum. The team committed 18 turnovers and allowed 13 offensive rebounds. Durant missed a second straight game due to his calf. White joined the team in Abu Dhabi and practiced, but did not play in the game.

Serbia
Stephen Curry led the United States with 24 points in a 105–79 win over Serbia. He scored Team USA's first nine points and had 18 in the first half, making four three-point field goals in 11 minutes. The game was tied at 40 with 4:42 remaining in the second quarter, when Curry made a four-point play on a three-pointer and subsequent free throw. The Americans led 59–45 at the half, pulling away from the Serbs with a 31–5 run over the second and third quarters. Team USA led by 25 entering the fourth, before expanding its lead to 30.

Davis had all six of the United States' blocks, and the team held six-time All-Star Nikola Jokić, the reigning NBA MVP, to 6-of-19 shooting. Edwards added 16 points off the bench. In his U.S. debut, White finished with four rebounds and an assist in nine minutes. Durant again did not play.

South Sudan
LeBron James made a layup with eight seconds remaining in the game to put Team USA ahead, and they held on for a 101–100 win over South Sudan. After going up 8–0 in the first $2 1/2$ minutes of the game, the Americans trailed 58–44 at halftime after South Sudan made 61 percent of its shots in the first half and outscored the United States 21–3 on 3-pointers. Team USA rallied back with an 18–0 run in the second half, going up 79–76 late in the third quarter on a 35 ft three-pointer from Curry for their first lead since the first quarter. South Sudan missed three attempts in the final seconds to win the game. The team's performance came as a surprise, as they entered the game as $43 1/2$-point underdogs according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

James had a game-high 25 points along with six rebounds and seven assists, and Davis finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. South Sudan's Marial Shayok had 24 points and Carlik Jones had a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Preliminary round
The United States was placed in Group C.

All times are local (UTC+2).