The men’s USA Basketball team began training camp this week in Las Vegas, as the star-studded 12-man roster made the trek out to the desert for a week of practices and scrimmages with the Select team as they ramp up towards the Olympics in Paris at the end of the month.
After failing to medal at the World Cup last year, the top American stars all agreed to join forces for the Olympics to try and win Team USA’s fifth straight gold medal. Older stars like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant decided to go for one last ride with Team USA, and the only holdovers from the World Cup roster are Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton.
The question for USA Basketball is never talent, but getting the team to play together and manage the egos of 12 stars who suddenly find themselves in roles they often have never been asked to play. Striking the balance between letting guys do what they’re best at but also making sure they play team basketball is the biggest challenge for Steve Kerr and his coaching staff, and it’s always fascinating to see who ends up in the biggest on-court roles.
At least early on, one of the young guns, Anthony Edwards, seems to believe that he is still the No. 1 option for this Olympics team, telling reporters as much after Sunday’s scrimmage and noting that he feels it’s on the other guys to fit in around him.
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on how he fits in with USA Basketball Olympic team: “I’m still the number one option. Y’all might look at it differently. … They’ve got to fit in around me. That’s how I feel.” pic.twitter.com/Cga5kTiR2J
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 7, 2024
It’s possible Edwards will be right. The older guys on the team might not want to shoulder the burden of being the top option and might be happy to cede that title Edwards and his younger, fresher legs. That said, it’ll be fascinating to see how this team comes together, because the last USA squad with Edwards on it was not able to find that cohesion and got taken out by Germany in the semifinals and Canada in the bronze medal game to go home without any hardware.
