There’s no denying how dominant Team USA has been in the Paris Olympics, especially after dismantling Brazil recently. For NBA legend Charles Barkley, though, there’s more pressure now on the national squad and losing won’t be an option anymore.
Team USA team made a dominant statement with a 122-87 win against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament in Paris. They are now going to the semifinals, where they will face Serbia, a team they have already defeated twice in the lead-up to the Games.
Devin Booker led the scoring for the U.S. with 18 points, while five other players scored in double digits, including Kevin Durant, who became Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in Olympic competition with 494 points, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s previous record.
Head coach Steve Kerr praised the team’s increased focus and energy compared to the exhibition matches, saying the squad has “really turned it up” in the tournament. Despite the comfortable win, Kerr acknowledged that the upcoming semifinals against Serbia will be a tough challenge, as the Serbians completed a remarkable comeback against Australia in the quarterfinals.
Joel Embiid, who scored 14 points for the U.S., rolled his ankle in the first half but is expected to be fine for the semifinal. The crowd in Paris jeered Embiid, who decided to represent the U.S. over France or Cameroon, but the NBA MVP embraced the hostility, saying he’s looking forward to more of it as the tournament progresses.
NBA Legend Charles Barkley Gets Real on Team USA’s Run In The Olympics
22 Charles Barkley At Event
There have been various takes on the United States’ performance on the global basketball stage in Paris. The latest perspective came from Barkley, as seen in an episode of Podcast P with Philadelphia 76ers wing Paul George on YouTube.
Charles: “Have the international teams gotten better? 100%. They still not better than the United States, right? I mean you take away Joker [Nikola Jokić] and Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Luca [Dončić], those all three guys are great, great players.”
PG: Gotta throw Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] in there
Charles: Shai’s great also, but we still got the next 10 best players in every game. Well probably 12. So this notion that yeah, the international teams, they have gotten better. They are, but we still got the best players in the world. When we go to our bench, there’s nobody bringing a Jayson Tatum or Jrue Holiday or [Tyrese] Halliburton or Derek White.
Those foreign teams ain’t bringing no dudes off the bench that good. I guarantee you that. Listen I don’t even know every country, ain’t nobody bringing nobody off the bench better than Jayson Tatum okay? Ain’t nobody bringing anybody off the bench better than Kevin Durant.
So this notion, yeah, the international teams have gotten better but there’s never an excuse for the United States not to win the gold medal. We got the best team, we got the best players by far.”
The 2024 Summer Olympics men’s basketball tournament has reached the semifinals, with Team USA favored to capture its fifth consecutive gold medal. The U.S. squad, led by LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, is the heavy favorite at -700, while Germany (+800), Serbia (+2000), and France (+2200) round out the remaining contenders.
As seen in the exhibition matches and the recent games in the Olympics, Team USA is definitely the team to beat in Paris. If they fail to win the gold, though, expect Barkley and everyone to bash the national squad for failing with the most talented roster in the world.
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