Will USA Basketball be able to create a new Dream Team?

At the O2 in London, South Sudan and Germany both warmed up at the basket opposite the tunnel entrance to the locker rooms, going through drills and familiarizing themselves with the arena's hoops before facing the United States - or USA Basketball, if you want to conform to a lexical requirement that feels somewhat trivial every four years. Some flashes lit up the mid-range practice of the German flag bearer Dennis Schroder, or the perimeter shots of Andreas Obst, the German Steph Curry, or the powerful dunks from South Sudanese Nuni Omot and Wenyen Gabriel. When the announcer called the sold-out crowd to welcome the American "Monstars," however, there was no doubt: everyone, inevitably, had hearts in their eyes for LeBron James and his teammates. In the last two warm-up games leading to Paris 2024, the Olympic Games where the stars and stripes basketball team seeks an incredible (and not entirely predictable) fifth consecutive gold medal - the last time they were off the top podium at the Olympic Games was in Athens 2004, with a bitter bronze - one of the most talented American national teams ever closed with two victories.

This means that, including the stops in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, with a 3-0 record from victories over Canada, Australia, and Serbia, there have been no setbacks on the road to the Olympics under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower - and at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, usually set for Ligue 1 matches of the red and white football team, and transformed into a basketball arena to allow the group stage of the basketball tournament to take place. So this means that the road seems paved for another - yet another - proclamation of dominance in Olympic sports by a team boasting one of the two greatest players in history (LeBron James), the best shooter in history (Steph Curry), a game legend (Kevin Durant), a new guard destined to dominate the NBA stage (Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Devin Booker), and a potentially devastating package of big men (Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo). International competitiveness has increased. Although the Serbia of Nikola Jokic was defeated in their debut with an agile 110-84, teams like France with Victor Wembanyama, Canada with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the world champion Germany, Greece with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and so on, should make it clear to the United States not only how and if to win Olympic gold. But to understand what to be, for real.

If the idea of reassembling yet another Dream Team after Barcelona 1992 and Beijing 2008 was born following an overly disappointing fourth place at the 2023 World Cup held in Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines - preceded by an even more disheartening seventh place at the 2019 World Cup in China - the mystery seems to lie not so much in the competitiveness of the United States in general but in the underestimation in preparing for challenges with the rest of the world. A key example dates back to the semifinal last September against Germany, which went on to touch global glory in the Philippine capital. An undeniably diminished roster, but with the cards on the table to reclaim the top of the world nine years after the last time, fell under the blows of Andreas Obst. A rotation player in EuroLeague with Bayern Munich but a specialist from beyond the arc, the German sharpshooter seemed not to appear in the game plan of Steve Kerr, Eric Spoelstra, and the rest of the coaching staff, despite recently receiving praise from the GOAT shooter. The United States basketball team, accustomed to not having major problems with the vast majority of international teams over the years - with only a slight exception for Spain and France since the start of the new millennium - cannot afford to underestimate any opponent.

It was a friendly, of course, but it was demonstrated by the narrow 101-100 victory over South Sudan; in London 2012, the latter not only did not have a national team, but had not even gained independence as a state. The same applied to the aforementioned Germany in 2023, or to Serbia four years prior. In a phrase that is deeply rhetorical yet quite true in the global basketball context, "the game really belongs to everyone". Truly. The era in which the Dream Team of Barcelona 1992 won by an average margin of almost 44 points per game against Angola, Croatia, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Puerto Rico, Lithuania, and again Croatia, winning the gold medal against a former iron Yugoslav team led by Drazen Petrovic and Toni Kukoc by a margin of 32 points (117-85) is over. If the United States wants to impose comprehensive dominance on the court, they must change their approach not only as the torch relay and the opening ceremony approach - for the first time outside an arena, but along the banks of the Seine - and the Olympic village, but also every four years to battle in the nearly three weeks of the World Cup. Perhaps, why not, always bringing a veteran into the locker room.

Could a roster boasting some of the players among the Top-75 All-Time in the NBA be crucial to winning in Paris 2024? Yes. The almost 40-year-old LeBron James, twenty years after his first Olympics in Athens 2004 and finally the flag bearer for his country, has decided to spend another summer singing The Star-Spangled Banner before tip-off for this reason as well. Speaking of one of the most iconic flag bearers of the memorable opening ceremony along the Seine, The Chosen One donned a classic outfit designed by Ralph Lauren, once again appointed to dress the stars and stripes delegation at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the French capital. Not without some difficulty due to unfortunate weather events, LeBron James not only embraced the cause with pride but also displayed a decent aura in wearing the blue blazer with red and white embroidery while leading Team USA. The versatility of a roster so rich in talent and versatility like the one available to Steve Kerr also translates into fashion off the court. If in the context of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games, a less casual atmosphere has been given (and will be given) space, USA Basketball has also introduced a tailored collaboration with Kith, where another champion like Kevin Durant is an exceptional spokesperson.

On stormy days between KD and Nike, not to mention the jab at the same brand from Jaylen Brown, who was not called to replace Kawhi Leonard, who called out the same Nike, Kith has stepped in with a collection that includes jackets, crew necks, hoodies, vintage-washed t-shirts, sweatpants, and shorts, all embroidered with special logos and custom designs. As if that weren't enough, to celebrate the collection, Kith decided to move to another field, transforming the courtyard of the famous George V Hotel in Paris into a customized basketball court. Enjoying a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, the pieces of the customized collection can be admired until August 15 while walking on obvious red, white, and blue shades, immersing oneself in a conceptual space in collaboration with Four Seasons.

Back on the court, starting from the most accommodating group of the three - Group C, with Puerto Rico, South Sudan, and Serbia - first from the draw of the quarter-finals, USA Basketball will presumably start as the favorites. Not seeing them as winners at the end of the Paris Olympic event would equate to the most thunderous of defeats. Let alone if this were to correspond to a sci-fi transfer of power with the new generational phenomenon Victor Wembanyama, potentially capable of leading France to its first Olympic gold in front of their compatriots. But when accounts are settled, on the eve of mid-August, with presumably more American flags on the shoulders of roster champions in the French capital, let the United States not make the same mistake. If the strongest team on the planet wants to reclaim the crown, at the next World Cup in Qatar 2027 and the Olympics at home in Los Angeles 2028, they must learn from the past: basketball has become for everyone. And everyone can compete for it.