Team USA

Kevin Durant Sets High Olympic Benchmark For Team USA

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Kevin Durant has stated that he wants Team USA to “really make a statement” at the 2024 Olympics with “40, 50-point wins” against their opponents. There are four Olympic berths left to decide for the men’s competition. However, currently, the USA’s opponents could include France, South Sudan, Canada, Japan, Germany, Serbia, and Australia. Durant, a member of the initial player pool of Team USA, is a frontrunner to return to the squad, which is expected to be announced in May.

During the 2020 Olympics, in which Team USA won gold, they averaged a margin of victory of 25.4 points. However, this involved bouncing back from an opening game loss to France, who they would later beat by five in the gold medal match. Only one of Team USA’s games, a 120-66 win over Iran, met Durant’s 2024 benchmark of “40, 50-point wins”. Team USA has won every men’s basketball gold medal since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Read More: Donovan Mitchell Wants To Play With LeBron James At The Olympics

Kevin Durant Confronts Mavs Fans After Alleged Disrespect

Meanwhile, There was a tense moment before Suns-Mavericks last week as Durant appeared to take issue with comments made by two courtside Mavs fans. As the Suns came out onto the court for warmups, two Mavs fans appeared to shout something at Durant. In response, Durant came over to the couple and began staring them down as one of them continually asked him for a high five. However, the footage of the incident posted online makes it unclear what was said to Durant. However, it’s clear that the Suns veteran was not happy with what was said. Furthermore, Durant was later seen going back over to the couple along with arena personnel.

The Suns would end up losing by ten as the team continued in their struggles to find consistency. Durant had 23 points and 6 assists in the loss. Furthermore, he did not address the pregame incident in the postgame media scrum. This remains a developing story.

Read More: Yung Miami & Kevin Durant Hug At All-Star Game, Fans Ship It

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Draymond Green Missing From Initial Team USA Olympic Pool, Execs Explain Why

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Draymond Green was the most notable name missing from the initial 41-player pool for the Team USA Men’s Basketball Olympic Roster. The exclusion of Green, who won gold in 2016 and 2020, was surprising given that his club head coach, Steve Kerr, is also the national team coach. However, USA Basketball executive director explained that it was Green’s on-court antics keeping him out of contention at the moment. “His contributions have been significant, and he is a real part of the legacy of this organization for his excellence. But I think just in lieu of sort of what’s transpired this year, we made a decision to not have [Green] on this list with this particular point in time with the process,” Hill said in a media Zoom call.

Green will be able to play his way into the roster over the next few months. The team isn’t expected to be picked up May at the earliest. Meanwhile, the rest of the list is a veritable list of bona fide NBA talent. LeBron, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid all appear on the list. However, there is also a cache of younger stars like Walker Kessler, Chet Holgrem, and Tyrese Haliburton.

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Dwight Howard Wants Olympic Shot

One name also missing, though much less surprisingly, is Dwight Howard. Howard is currently out of basketball after leaving Taiwan and failing to sign with an NBA team. However, the former NBA starter made it clear last year that he was an Olympic shot. “I like what I see 💪🏾but don’t leave ya boy out🤔. If ya leave me out I’m playing with Taiwan and I’m dropping 85 😅#nba #basketball #legends,” Howard wrote last year. There’s just one problem with this – Taiwan can’t qualify for the Olympics. Taiwan is not one of the 24 remaining teams that will compete for one of the four remaining Olympic spots this July.

However, Howard does plenty of international experience. In the late 2000s, Howard was a go-to pick for the national team. He won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 as well as a World Cup bronze in 2006. Despite this, his time out of the NBA as well as his ongoing legal issues mean that there is very little chance that Howard will be headed to Paris.

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Team USA Qualifies For Men’s And Women’s Olympic 3×3 Basketball Tournaments

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Team USA has qualified both a men’s and women’s team for the Olympic 3×3 Basketball for the 2024 games in Paris. FIBA announced the first three men’s teams and the first two women’s teams to qualify on Wednesday. The selection was based on the current FIBA World Ranking. In the men’s event, #1 Serbia and #3 China also qualified. Meanwhile, #1 China and hosts France qualified alongside Team USA.

The men’s team missed out on qualifying for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the first Games to feature 3×3 basketball. However, a silver medal at the World Cup earlier this year and a gold medal at the Pan American Games last month helped secure qualification. “Making it to the Olympics, that’s what it’s been all about for us. It means a ton. The opportunity to be able to represent our country at the Olympics would be an amazing experience. I’ve been fortunate enough to represent our country a few times, but the Olympics is a whole different level,” said former NBA guard and longtime 3×3 player Jimmer Fredette. The women’s team are the defending Olympic champions and also won Pan Am gold last month.

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Who Has Qualified For Olympic 3×3 Basketball?

There are still five men’s places and four women’s places available for the 3×3 basketball event at Paris 2024. These places will be determined between now and the Games next July. Two places in each event will be determined by the Universality-Driven Qualifying Tournaments. These special tournaments are designed to allow teams who wouldn’t usually be given a chance due to their rating to compete. For example, one of the women’s tournaments will feature Mongolia.

Meanwhile, the remaining places will be decided in a more standard Olympic qualifying tournament. The participants in these events will taken from the FIBA World Rankings and will fill out the remaining places in both tournaments. “USA Basketball is extremely proud to qualify four basketball teams for Paris 2024,” “We look forward to watching all teams compete at the highest level with the goal of winning four Olympic gold medals,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in a statement of the US’ 3×3 qualification. The US already has teams qualified for both 5×5 events.

Read More: South Sudan Earns Olympic Basketball Berth

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Simone Biles Leads Team USA To Seventh Consecutive World Gymnastics Title

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Team USA has secured its seventh consecutive World Gymnastics title behind the efforts of Simone Biles and her teammates. Despite a dominant performance in qualifying, the medal event was closer than expected, with the US beating Brazil by 2.199 points in Antwerp. The team gold broke the tie that Team USA had held with the Chinese men’s team for consecutive World golds. Meanwhile, that same Chinese men’s team had to settle for silver behind Japan.

However, the championships are far from done for Biles and company. Biles is favored to win four individual golds – all-around, vault, beam, and floor. Meanwhile, Shilese Jones has her eyes firmly set on the bars gold. However, beyond medaling and everything else, there is also the motivation of putting in strong performances as selection for Paris 2024 approaches.

Read More: Simone Biles Breaks New Record After Her Latest Championship Win

Biles Eyeing History At Homecoming Worlds

“Back to where it all started, see you soon Belgium,” Biles told her Instagram followers via a story post after qualifying for Worlds. As alluded to by Biles, Antwerp will be something of a homecoming. A decade ago, she made her Worlds debut in the city. She cleaned up in her first-ever event, grabbing gold in the all-around and floor, silver in the vault, and bronze in the beam. Furthermore, qualification meant Biles became the first woman to be selected to represent the US at six World Championships.

Worlds also represents a chance for Biles to secure her place in Paris next year. Olympic places are available on all apparatus, as well as for the all-around champion. Furthermore, Biles is a firm favorite to qualify somewhere as she has shown that her time away has not left any rust on her performance. However, the world of gymnastics has only gotten better in recent years. This means that Biles will likely face some tough competition if she wants to take home the gold in Belgium. After an off day tomorrow, Biles will be in action on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Read More: Simone Biles & Jonathan Owens Married In Texas: Photos

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Dwight Howard Makes Bizzare Threat If He Doesn’t Make The US Olympic Team

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Dwight Howard has become the latest player to express interest in representing the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Team USA has won the last four Olympic gold medals but has elsewhere struggled on the international stage. In particular, the national team has come under fire after failing to medal at the recent FIBA World Cup. This has led a bevy of stars such as LeBron, AD, and Steph Curry to express their interest in competing in Paris.

In the late 2000s, Howard was a go-to pick for the national team. He won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 as well as a World Cup bronze in 2006. However, he is likely on the outside looking in when it comes to 2024. Despite this, Howard is adamant that he be selected. Furthermore, he has gone as far as to say that if he isn’t selected, he will play for Taiwan and “drop 85”. There’s just one problem with this – Taiwan (or Chinese Taipei as it is referred to by the IOC) can’t qualify for the Olympics. Taiwan is not one of the 24 remaining teams that will compete for one of the four remaining Olympic spots next July.

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Howard Aside, Who Is Still Competing For An Olympic Spot?

As mentioned, there are 24 nations still eligible for an Olympic berth. They will be drawn into four tournaments of six teams and compete at the start of July 2024. The winner of each mini-tournament will get an Olympic berth. Most of the teams still competing come from the FIBA World Cup and include everyone from Puerto Rico and Lebanon to European powerhouses like Spain and Greece.

Beyond these 24 contenders, eight teams have already punched their ticket to the Paris Games. Aside from hosts France, the other seven teams earned their berth in the FIBA World Cup. Aside from the US, Canada, South Sudan, Japan, Germany, Serbia, and Australia have all qualified. That already adds a wealth of NBA and NBA-adjacent talent to the World Cup. Even if the US sends a superteam, this might be their toughest road to the gold medal in some time.

Read More: LeBron and other stars eye 2024 Olympics

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SOURCE SPORTS: LeBron, Steph, KD Reportedly Plotting Return to Team USA

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Olympics: Basketball Men's Gold Medal Game USA vs ESP

Team USA didn’t medal during the World Cup, and now a pack of Hall of Fame legends are planning to make their return to the Men’s national team.

According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania and Joe Vardon, LeBron James is planning to make one last run in the Olympics, planning to join the team for the Paris 2024 games. In addition, he has called on a superstar roster of players to join him.

League sources state James has been in contact with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, and Draymond Green, who are all ready to join James in committing to the team. Additional names also interested are Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox, and Kyrie Irving.

The top names were planning their return before the loss this week in the World Cup.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: LeBron, Steph, KD Reportedly Plotting Return to Team USA first appeared on The Source.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: LeBron, Steph, KD Reportedly Plotting Return to Team USA appeared first on The Source.

Gilbert Arenas Slams USA’s FIBA World Cup Team: “A Sorry-Ass Group”

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Gilbert Arenas says that the current roster for the United States national team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup is a “sorry-ass group.” He discussed his disappointment in the roster while speaking with Trae Young during a recent episode of Gil’s Arenas.

“You see that list he [Steve Kerr] got? A sorry-ass group,” Arenas remarked. The 12-man team boasts Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks) and Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers).

Read More: Team USA Men’s Basketball Wins Fourth Gold Medal In A Row; Beats France

Cam Johnson & Mikal Bridges Practice For Team USA

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 06: Cam Johnson (L) #6 and Mikal Bridges #5 of the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team are interviewed at a practice session during the team’s training camp at the Mendenhall Center at UNLV as the team gets ready for the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup on August 06, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Arenas continued: “I’m happy for the people who make it. It’s cool, it’s cool for some of the guys who got there that I don’t know, some of them probably don’t even start on their team. I don’t know, I don’t wanna look at it, cause it’s embarrassing sometimes where you have star players who’s really stars that do wanna participate, and you just automatically just say, yeah, he’s not gonna fit our style.” Arenas also theorized that Nike plays a role in keeping players affiliated with other brands off the roster.

Gilbert Arenas On Team USA

The conversation arose while discussing Trae Young not making the team. “I definitely want to… It’s up to them if they want me to,” the Atlanta Hawks star said on the show. Despite not making the cut, Young is arguably one of the top players in the NBA. At just 24 years old, he’s a two-time NBA All-Star, while averaging over 25 points and nine assists for his career.

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