Although the Olympics are viewed as the top international tournament for basketball players and a huge honor to participate in, playing there is still a sacrifice that could have negative consequences, particularly for NBA players coming off of strenuous 82-game seasons plus long playoff runs.
Some of those players’ 2023-24 seasons ended in May or early June, giving them a short turnaround before the Olympic basketball tournament started in late July, ending in August. There were also pre-tournament exhibition games in which those players had to partake. Those same players then had to return to their NBA teams in late September for the start of training camp.
That’s a whole lot of basketball without much rest.
Let’s see how some of the game’s biggest stars are performing after such a tough year of nonstop basketball.