(Part 1) Wherever superstar talent resides, success on the basketball court usually follows. And no one brings the superstars out quite like USA Basketball.
Still, it takes more than big names to win. The U.S. men’s national team learned the hard way at the FIBA World Cup this summer after a disappointing fourth-place finish with a team that had zero international experience on the roster.
The powers that be appear to be wasting little time addressing that problem ahead of the 2024 Olympics. LeBron James, as The Athletic reported, has a strong interest in committing to Team USA for next summer and is already recruiting other stars, such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green to join him. With players such as Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, De’Aaron Fox and Damian Lillard also showing interest in committing, next year’s Team USA could be one of the most star-studded basketball squads ever featured on the Olympic stage.
However, there’s one more name the Americans must secure to ensure this group is prepared for the 2024 Olympics: Bam Adebayo.
With all the star power the U.S. can put together, adding players who can complement those stars and bring the best out of them should be a top priority. Adebayo, who was the starting center on the team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, exemplifies that mindset with his selfless style of play and versatile skill set at the center position. He may look undersized on paper at 6-9, 255 pounds, but his strength and smarts make him a tough matchup for any big who hopes to attack him 1-on-1. Most importantly, he brings two attributes that the U.S. FIBA World Cup team lacked this summer: interior defense and rebounding.
While the Americans should be able to overwhelm opponents on the perimeter, they lack frontcourt options to a stunning degree considering their talent base. In reality, big men from other nations have been the ones flourishing in recent years. Each of the last five NBA MVPs – Joel Embiid once, Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo twice – has been awarded to big men who were not born in America. Depending on which countries qualify, the 2024 Olympics will be an opportunity for the rest of the world to display how much they’ve advanced past the U.S. in developing elite big men.
Knowing that challenge is ahead, Adebayo is the ideal piece to ensure other countries won’t push the U.S. around as easily as they did during the FIBA World Cup.
In its first loss in the tournament, the U.S. was outrebounded 43-27 by a Lithuania team that didn’t even have Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis in the lineup. Two games later, Germany scored 113 points in its semifinal win against the U.S., shooting a blistering 57.7 percent from the field. Even with reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. roaming the paint, teams had no trouble getting whatever they wanted against the U.S. The Americans surrendered at least 110 points in each of their three losses.
Those two teams may be in the U.S.’s path again next summer, along with several others. Germany has already qualified for the Olympics by virtue of winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Serbia, which clinched a spot in the Olympic field as the FIBA World Cup runner-up, is on track to get Jokić back next summer. If the Lithuanians qualify for the Olympics, the combination of Sabonis and Jonas Valančiūnas could give them one of the most potent frontcourt duos the U.S. may face next summer. It’s also possible the Americans will see Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Antetokuonmpo (Greece) and/or Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia) if those teams earn one of the four remaining bids in the field.
That’s not even mentioning the most significant threat to the U.S. and biggest complicating factor for Adebayo himself: France.
As it stands, the French national team will play at home with a frontcourt that could feature Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, which is quite formidable on its own. But one more massive question mark could drastically change the dynamic.
Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and France. He could play for either nation, but he has yet to choose which one, if any. Undoubtedly, there will be countless people on both sides trying to convince Embiid to play for them.
His decision could ultimately determine Adebayo’s fate with Team U.S.A. If the U.S. can get Embiid and Davis on the roster together, they may decide that’s enough size and talent in the frontcourt to deal with any team in the world. However, if Embiid decides to instead join France, possibly with Wembanyama and Gobert, it would form one of the greatest frontcourt trios in Olympic history. Adebayo’s presence would be required just for the U.S. to keep up in the paint against a team with that much size. But his skill set is useful even if Embiid commits.
Aram_theHead
Sooooo, now they think he’s better than Marcus Smart or JJJ? 🧐
LavenderAutist
ELI5 version
JJJ doesn’t know how to rebound and Joel Embid isn’t a lock to play
TrickstarCandina
Part of me wants Bam to tell them to fuck off but I also want him to be an integral piece in the US Olympic team winning Gold lol
Dame2Miami
They should be so lucky to have Bam. Spo should be the obvious HC too.
bluepineapple42069
JJJ aint shit, Bam should have gotten that depoy
OrganizationFar6086
I really don’t understand how he isn’t referred to as an unquestionable star at this point. What does the dude have to do to be seen as more than a role player?
Aggravating_Plant_39
Bam should turn them down ask the fraudulent DPOY (JJJ) to anchor the defense.
8 Comments
(Part 1) Wherever superstar talent resides, success on the basketball court usually follows. And no one brings the superstars out quite like USA Basketball.
Still, it takes more than big names to win. The U.S. men’s national team learned the hard way at the FIBA World Cup this summer after a disappointing fourth-place finish with a team that had zero international experience on the roster.
The powers that be appear to be wasting little time addressing that problem ahead of the 2024 Olympics. LeBron James, as The Athletic reported, has a strong interest in committing to Team USA for next summer and is already recruiting other stars, such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green to join him. With players such as Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, De’Aaron Fox and Damian Lillard also showing interest in committing, next year’s Team USA could be one of the most star-studded basketball squads ever featured on the Olympic stage.
However, there’s one more name the Americans must secure to ensure this group is prepared for the 2024 Olympics: Bam Adebayo.
With all the star power the U.S. can put together, adding players who can complement those stars and bring the best out of them should be a top priority. Adebayo, who was the starting center on the team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, exemplifies that mindset with his selfless style of play and versatile skill set at the center position. He may look undersized on paper at 6-9, 255 pounds, but his strength and smarts make him a tough matchup for any big who hopes to attack him 1-on-1. Most importantly, he brings two attributes that the U.S. FIBA World Cup team lacked this summer: interior defense and rebounding.
While the Americans should be able to overwhelm opponents on the perimeter, they lack frontcourt options to a stunning degree considering their talent base. In reality, big men from other nations have been the ones flourishing in recent years. Each of the last five NBA MVPs – Joel Embiid once, Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo twice – has been awarded to big men who were not born in America. Depending on which countries qualify, the 2024 Olympics will be an opportunity for the rest of the world to display how much they’ve advanced past the U.S. in developing elite big men.
Knowing that challenge is ahead, Adebayo is the ideal piece to ensure other countries won’t push the U.S. around as easily as they did during the FIBA World Cup.
In its first loss in the tournament, the U.S. was outrebounded 43-27 by a Lithuania team that didn’t even have Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis in the lineup. Two games later, Germany scored 113 points in its semifinal win against the U.S., shooting a blistering 57.7 percent from the field. Even with reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. roaming the paint, teams had no trouble getting whatever they wanted against the U.S. The Americans surrendered at least 110 points in each of their three losses.
Those two teams may be in the U.S.’s path again next summer, along with several others. Germany has already qualified for the Olympics by virtue of winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Serbia, which clinched a spot in the Olympic field as the FIBA World Cup runner-up, is on track to get Jokić back next summer. If the Lithuanians qualify for the Olympics, the combination of Sabonis and Jonas Valančiūnas could give them one of the most potent frontcourt duos the U.S. may face next summer. It’s also possible the Americans will see Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Antetokuonmpo (Greece) and/or Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia) if those teams earn one of the four remaining bids in the field.
That’s not even mentioning the most significant threat to the U.S. and biggest complicating factor for Adebayo himself: France.
As it stands, the French national team will play at home with a frontcourt that could feature Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, which is quite formidable on its own. But one more massive question mark could drastically change the dynamic.
Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and France. He could play for either nation, but he has yet to choose which one, if any. Undoubtedly, there will be countless people on both sides trying to convince Embiid to play for them.
His decision could ultimately determine Adebayo’s fate with Team U.S.A. If the U.S. can get Embiid and Davis on the roster together, they may decide that’s enough size and talent in the frontcourt to deal with any team in the world. However, if Embiid decides to instead join France, possibly with Wembanyama and Gobert, it would form one of the greatest frontcourt trios in Olympic history. Adebayo’s presence would be required just for the U.S. to keep up in the paint against a team with that much size. But his skill set is useful even if Embiid commits.
Sooooo, now they think he’s better than Marcus Smart or JJJ? 🧐
ELI5 version
JJJ doesn’t know how to rebound and Joel Embid isn’t a lock to play
Part of me wants Bam to tell them to fuck off but I also want him to be an integral piece in the US Olympic team winning Gold lol
They should be so lucky to have Bam. Spo should be the obvious HC too.
JJJ aint shit, Bam should have gotten that depoy
I really don’t understand how he isn’t referred to as an unquestionable star at this point. What does the dude have to do to be seen as more than a role player?
Bam should turn them down ask the fraudulent DPOY (JJJ) to anchor the defense.