The United States is favored to win the most medals — and gold medals — at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
And the U.S. men's basketball team could bring home one of those gold medals.
What Happened: The balance of international players in the National Basketball Association in recent years could be a key topic at the Olympic Games, which take place from July 26 through Aug. 11.
Back in 1992, only nine NBA players were featured on teams the U.S. Men's Basketball team played against.
At the 2024 Olympics, the figure jumps to 61.
Team USA has one of its best-ever basketball teams for the Olympics. Observers are drawing comparisons to the 1992 Olympic gold medal-winning squad known as the "Dream Team."
The 2024 team is led by LeBron James, competing in his fourth Olympics, and Steph Curry, who will compete in his first Olympics.
The 1992 Olympics team was led by Michael Jordan and featured many all-time greats of the NBA of the 1990s. The team went undefeated during the Olympics, winning games by an average of 44 points. The Dream Team's closest game was a 32-point victory over Croatia in the gold medal game.
Team USA has won 16 gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals at the Summer Olympics, including four straight gold medals.
But in recent years, Team USA has struggled on the international stage, including no medals won at the 2019 and 2023 FIBA World Cups. The recent performance led to more NBA stars, including Curry, willing to play in this year's Olympics.
Team USA won its tune-up games before the Olympics started, but done so with lower point margins than many fans and sportsbooks predicted.
This includes USA beating South Sudan by only one point, a team it was favored to beat by 41.5 points. USA also beat Germany by only four points in a game it was favored by 15.5 points in.
Olympic Schedule: Team USA is part of Group C at the 2024 Summer Olympics and will play three games in the group stage against the other group teams, who are Serbia, Puerto Rico and South Sudan.
Below is the current schedule for Team USA and which Comcast Corp-owned CMCSA channel the games will air (all games will stream on Peacock as well):
- July 28: vs. Serbia 11:15 a.m. ET on NBC
- July 31: vs. South Sudan 3 p.m. ET on USA
- Aug. 3: vs. Puerto Rico 11:15 a.m. ET on NBC
Team USA will continue advancing if they finish in first or second in the group stage. The top two third-place teams from the group stage will also advance to the quarterfinals.
The gold medal game will be played on Aug. 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Betting Odds: Team USA is the heavy betting favorite to take home the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, but the tournament features many teams with NBA players.
Canada's roster includes 10 NBA players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. France features several NBA players including reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. Serbia also features Nikola Jokic, who has won three of the last four NBA MVP awards.
Here are the current favorites to win the gold medal in Men's Basketball, as reported by sportsbook DraftKings Inc DKNG:
- USA: -500
- Canada: +1,100
- France: +1,200
- Serbia: +1,600
- Greece: +2,000
- Germany: +3,000
A $100 bet on Team USA to win gold would pay out a profit of $20 if they are champions during the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Team USA has odds of -1,800 to win Group C and odds of -3,500 to win a medal.
Bettors can also bet on which player on Team USA will have the most points, rebounds and assists in the tournament and several other prop markets. LeBron and Curry are the co-favorites at +300 to lead USA in points.
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© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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