Even National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikola Jokic wasn’t enough. Dubbed the “Dream Team of the 21st Century,” Team USA’s basketball team tore at Serbia’s rims for four quarters in the first game of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It was as if they were playing not against Serbia, but against teams that have made U.S. Olympic basketball history, including the original Dream Team from Barcelona 1992 and the lead team from Beijing 2008.
The U.S. Men’s National Basketball Team defeated Serbia 110-84 in Group C on Monday (Feb. 28) at Pierre Moreau Stadium in Lille, France. With the exception of the first quarter, the Americans dominated the Serbs, 메이저사이트 leading by 20 to 30 points in all four quarters.
Once again, the U.S. is represented by some of the top players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is at the helm, and the roster is a veritable who’s who of world all-stars. Their combined salaries total about $62 billion.
In this game, Kevin Durant, the so-called “District 1 option”, scored 23 points, the most of any player on either team. His long jump shot was on full display as he knocked down five three-pointers. LeBron “The King” James, who scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds, showed that he can still physically dominate opposing defenses. Serbia, ranked No. 4 in the FIBA, were led by Nikola Jokic’s 20 points, but were brought to their knees by a 26-point defeat by the United States.
Team USA, which lost four straight Olympic Games from Beijing 2008 to Tokyo 2020, will try to make it five in a row in Paris. However, the gap between them and Europe is much narrower than it has been in the past, so it’s too early to predict a victory. The men’s basketball competition is organized into three groups, with the second-place finishers in each group advancing to the quarterfinals and the two best-performing nations in the third group joining them in the quarterfinals. Team USA will take on South Sudan in the second round of group play on Nov. 31, and it will be interesting to see how the Americans fare in the second game, especially after a hard-fought 101-100 win over South Sudan in an exhibition game just before the tournament opened.