Less than a year from the Paris Olympic Games, we wanted to look into a possibility that inevitably makes all NBA fans salivate, even if it turns out to be terrifying for Team USA’s opponents. In 2024, the United States is quite likely to set up a Dream Team, capable of resuscitating the name popularized in 1992 by a legendary group of almost unrivaled talent. The fact that the Olympic Games are being held in a city generally appreciated by American superstars and that they represent for some of these superstars the last opportunity to shine with their country, makes us say that the scenario is far from crazy.
So we put together what looks like, in our eyes, the “best” team capable of earning the nickname Dream Team in a year. Not necessarily with all the most successful basketball players at the moment T.
Les Guards
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 36 ans
We have the idea that Steph will still have the rods and the shot to play for a very long time at the highest level. No reason, therefore, for him not to be a prominent member of this Dream Team. The Baby-Faced Assassin has two world championship gold medals to his credit, but no Olympic charms. It would be a shame to end this magical career without the slightest adventure at the Olympics, wouldn’t it?
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 27 ans
The Suns guard will be one of the youngest players in the group, but also perhaps the one who will be the most in his prime or on the rise. We have seen his rise to prominence in recent years with Phoenix and it is undeniable today that this franchise is his and that he is one of the deadliest attackers in the league and of his generation. Logically, in the summer of 2024, the one who has already been Olympic champion with Team USA in Tokyo will be even more essential in the NBA than he is today.
Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 34 ans
“Dame” was not the most successful player in Gregg Popovich’s group in Tokyo, but he is still an Olympic champion. In terms of star power, regardless of his desire to leave Portland, Lillard remains one of the most popular and sharp point guards in the entire league. Although by next summer younger guards may have pushed him down a few ranks in the theoretical hierarchy of NBA leaders, his place is here. We could have chosen Kyrie Irving, younger and more virtuoso, but we are already waiting to see how this first “real” season in Dallas goes.
Les Forwards
LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 39 ans
The “King” will be approaching his forties when hostilities begin in Paris. So what ? For this team to deserve to be considered a Dream Team, its presence is essential. LeBron has a good chance of still being one of the top 10 or 15 players in the league at 39, which is already a good prerequisite, and it would be wonderful to see him don the American jersey for such an event. , 12 years after his last appearance at the 2012 Olympics in London. The “Chosen One” has already won two Olympic gold medals and could emulate his friend Melo by managing to win a third.
Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 35 ans
If LeBron can match Melo, “KD” could outright supplant him and further assert his candidacy for the unofficial title of best player in Team USA history (on the men’s side, since Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were five-time champions Olympics). Durant is a winning machine with the selection and has three Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016 and 2020) and a world gold medal (2010). In the NBA, he remains a superstar and a weapon of mass destruction, even at almost 35 years old and with a popularity a little scratched by his career choices.
Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 34 ans
Since his participation in the 2016 Olympics, Jimmy Butler’s status has changed a lot in the NBA. Today, the Heat player is a superstar and a killer once the playoffs come. If being surrounded by other very big names is not necessarily what he prefers, his two-way side and the fact that he now belongs to another galaxy thanks to his two unexpected Finals won with Miami, seems to us to him an inevitable candidate for a spot in this Dream Team.
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 26 ans
It is when he realizes that he will only be 26 during the Paris Olympics that we realize that Tatum is only entering his prime and normally has many beautiful and long years ahead of him. The Celtics winger would be the youngest of this group, but not at all an extra as he has established himself as a headliner in the NBA with impressive individual and collective regularity. Present during the 2019 fiasco at the Chinese World Cup, but also in Tokyo to restore the American image, the former Dukie is one of the best players in the league in his position and has his place in this list.
Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 33 ans
Since his title with Toronto in 2019, Kawhi is a little less terrifying, but that has nothing to do with his level of play. When he is able to chain matches, the Clippers winger has little equivalent in the NBA. The concern is precisely to be able to avoid injuries and periods of vagueness. If we assume that he will be in good enough shape to be in a team rotation, with less responsibility than in Los Angeles, not including the two-time Finals MVP would be criminal. We want to see him all the more because Kawhi has never participated in a FIBA competition with Team USA, which is an anomaly given his record and the fact that he was almost always one of the 15 best players in the world since 2014.
Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 34 ans
The status of Paul George has been quite divisive since he joined the Clippers. Also often injured, the former Pacer is not the franchise player of his team, but is still a crucial element and a player with crazy versatility. We hesitated with Jaylen Brown, more regular and on a more upward slope in terms of career, and Anthony Edwards, who could quickly become a superstar, but the concept of Dream Team still implies that the “name” can make the difference. This is the case here, as “PG”, despite the difficulties of the Clippers to overcome the obstacles in the playoffs, has a popularity and a star power for the moment superior to Brown and Edwards. He will still have to fight a little to keep them.
Bigs
Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 31 ans
In a world where Anthony Davis is injury-free every three weeks and can hold his own as well as he did in 2020 and recently, no current American big man comes close to him. Davis may not be fond of the five position in its traditional sense, but he would be the perfect pivot for Team USA in a FIBA competition, with his enormous defensive level and his ability to score hard if the need arises. The interior of the Lakers has already lived two campaigns with the United States, the first at the 2012 Olympics in London, before his debut in the NBA, the second at the 2014 World Cup, each time with the gold medal at the end. Ten years later, seeing him return to the national team would be appreciable to give a little tinsel to a sector which, by force of circumstance and the evolution of basketball, is not the one where today we find the most of American stars.
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 27 ans
We remember Bam Adebayo’s frustration when he was kicked out of Team USA for the disastrous 2019 World Cup. Back for the Tokyo Olympics, the interior of the Miami Heat is one of the best in terms of versatile interiors in the NBA, with an elite defensive level and a talent as a still very underrated playmaker. He doesn’t necessarily have the same star power as other members of this group, where some may prefer Zion Williamson or Jaren Jackson Jr, but there aren’t that many equally reliable and consistent American pivots on and off the pitch. …
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Age at the time of the 2024 Olympics: 34 ans
Draymond Green is not unanimous, we know it, but we are still talking about one of the best defenders of all time, a determining player of the most recent dynasty in history and a real personality . This cocktail, combined with its rather unique playmaking for a player in his position, pushes us to include it. Draymond has already won two Olympic gold medals in Rio and Tokyo. Team USA needs a grumbler and he would fill that role perfectly.
Dream Team: how the best team in history was built
2023-09-01 07:15:00
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