Olympics Basketball – Syndication Server

Our brilliant staff picks basketball countries to root for in the Paris Olympics that are not Team USA

Wemby winning a gold medal in France would be pretty cool, right?

When the Olympics begin, it’s easy to root for Team USA. But let’s dare to be different. It’s fun to be a contrarian sometimes, right?

USA Basketball enters the tournament in Paris as the favorite to win the gold medal on both the men’s side and the women’s side. That doesn’t leave us with a lot of room for imagination, though. Go ahead and support the Red, White and Blue if you would like. But know there are other options!

Even though many of the players you will recognize from the NBA and WNBA will represent the United States, there are still some exciting players hailing from other nations as well.

Let’s give you a rooting guide if you’re having trouble deciding.

Men’s basketball

(Photo by MAXIME GRUSS/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia: The world would be better if Australia won the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Think of the content. THINK OF THE CONTENT. — Cory Woodroof

Brazil: It was 2014 when ESPN famously said that former first-round draft pick Bruno Caboclo was two years away from being two years away. Folks, do you know what that means? Based on my calculations, that suggests that Caboclo — who won a championship in German in 2023 and multiple MVP awards in 2022 — has finally arrived. I can’t wait to watch him in the pick-and-roll with former Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas. Força Brasil. — Bryan Kalbrosky

Canada: Our neighbors to the north have SUCH A FUN TEAM! You’ve got SGA, Lu Dort, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Jamal Murray. This is, theoretically, a team that can make a medal run and make some noise. I’m here for it. O Canada! — Charles Curtis

France: If I have to pick a country, I guess I’d root for France. The host country winning would give Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly some good national pride, which hopefully translates to them playing well for my Wizards. — Prince Grimes

France: I’m still upset Joel Embiid decided to play for the U.S. instead of France, but I guess packing the paint with Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly and Rudy Gobert will do. FIBA rules should give this large French team quite a boost, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the whole tournament. Lengthy athletes who can shoot well will cover up a lot of deficiencies. — Blake Schuster

Greece: Since I’ll be rooting for France a ton during the NBA’s regular season, I guess I’ll stomp a bit for Greece here. The people are sleeping on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who should still be considered 1B as the best player in the world to Nikola Jokic. I’m excited to watch him ball this summer (plus I’d love to go to Greece someday soon). — Mike D. Sykes

Puerto Rico: You might be surprised to learn that, within the past five years, Georgia Tech won something of significance in men’s basketball. It was in 2021 and a team led by ACC Defensive Player of the Year José Alvarado tore through the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. It was fun and ridiculous and awesome — and I imagine the feeling would be similar if an Alvarado-powered Puerto Rico team won the gold. Go ACC. — Mitchell Northam

Serbia: I want to make clear that I’m rooting for Team Serbia first. Why would I root for Team USA, the Celtics or Lakers of international basketball? They’re so dominant that it’s always more interesting to see someone else win. That aside, Serbia has the best player in the world right now, Nikola Jokic, surrounded by a battle-tested group with plenty of chemistry that won silver at the last FIBA World Cup… without Jokic. Serbia plays together and it plays hard. I’m all in, baby. — Robert Zeglinski

South Sudan: In 1992, a country that had recently won its independence rallied all the way to an Olympic silver on the hard wood (please do not check the final score). South Sudan isn’t in nearly the same situation as Croatia, but its struggle for recognition in a country without an indoor court made it one of the most inspiring competitors at this year’s games. How could you not support that? — Christian D’Andrea

Spain: ALL ABOARD THE SPAIN TRAIN! This strategy worked for me in Euro 2024, so I’m carrying it over to the Olympics. Sure, it’s a different sport and competition, but I still like Spain’s chances to compete for a medal. They have a good mix of NBA talent with one of the strongest domestic leagues outside the NBA. — Andrew Joseph

Women’s basketball

(Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia: Have you seen the roster? IT’S LOADED. Former Seattle Storm great Lauren Jackson leads a roster full of sleepers that will block your shot into oblivion and then rain buckets of fury down upon you. Ezi Magbeor. DAWG. Alanna Smith. DAWG. Isobel Borlase. DAWG. Are we serious? Don’t say I didn’t warn you about their potential. — Meghan Hall

Belgium: If you’re new to the WNBA this season, let me introduce you to Julie Vanloo: She’s the 31-year old ROOKIE point guard for the Washington Mystics who, at the Olympic break, is top 10 in the league in assists and 3-pointers made per game. Last year, she and former WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the gold in the EuroBasket. Vanloo and Meesseman are among the most fun duos to watch at the Olympics. — Mitchell Northam

Canada: Go, Aaliyah Edwards! — Prince Grimes

France: Prince stole my pick. Aaliyah Edwards is my rookie, so of course I’m rooting for her and Canada. But France is super fun, too. I’ve missed watching Marine Johannes in the W this season. Seeing her ball out for her home country is going to be awesome.— Mike D. Sykes

Germany: Likewise, no disrespect to the American women, but they are such a juggernaut that it would be more intriguing to see anyone else pull off the upset. On this side, I’ll go with the Germans. Leonie Fiebich and the Sabally sisters (Nyara and Satou) give the Germans an underrated core trying to make its first real run at an international tournament in well, ever. — Robert Zeglinski

Japan: The Japan women’s national team got close to the gold in 2021, and it’d be awesome to see it actually make it all the way this year. — Cory Woodroof

Serbia: While I love that Yao Ming is an assistant coach for China this year, Angela Dugalić has played college basketball for my two favorite schools: Oregon and UCLA. She missed all of the 2022-23 NCAA season after tearing her ACL while representing Serbia during the 2022 FIBA World Cup. I’m looking forward to seeing her redemption this summer. — Bryan Kalbrosky

Spain: The SPAIN TRAIN keeps on going. While Spain lacks WNBA talent, it has consistently competed for a medal since 2010. Nobody is beating the U.S. — let’s be real. But Spain could absolutely contend for silver. — Andrew Joseph

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24 national hoops teams who will compete for the final 4 spots in the 2024 Olympics

Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo need these tournaments to make the Olympics.

Only 12 national teams will compete to win basketball gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and we already know eight of the competitors.

24 teams, however, are eligible to compete for the final four spots in the tournament. The following teams, many of which qualified based on their play at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, will be divided into four groups of six at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.

Each tournament will be hosted by one of the six participating national federations. Each continent is expected to host one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

The winner of each of these four tournaments will join the eight teams that have already qualified, including the USA and Canada, at the Paris Olympics.

Some of the national teams with the most medals in Olympic basketball history (e.g. Spain, Brazil, Lithuania and Italy) are among those who will have to fight for a spot in Paris.

Several notable players (e.g. Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis) will need to use this tournament to advance as well.

Here are the 8 teams that qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris at the 2023 FIBA World Cup

USA and Canada men’s basketball have both qualified for the Olympics.

Although each national team wants to win the tournament, the FIBA World Cup also helps determine what nations will qualify for the Olympics.

Only a dozen teams will compete in Paris and we already know six of those nations, which we will review below. The placements thus far are based on universality, to ensure each continent is represented, and performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The host nation (France) automatically earns a bid to play in the tournament. Two teams from the Americas, two teams from Europe, one team from Asia, one team from Africa and one team from Oceania will also get placement as well.

If a team is listed in bold, that means they have officially punched their ticket and will compete in the 2024 Olympics.

Three asterisks next to the nation indicate that the team made it to the final phase of the tournament before elimination but still qualified for a wildcard spot via the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.

Similarly, two asterisks next to the nation indicate that the team made it to the second round of the tournament before elimination but qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament as well.

One asterisk next to the nation indicates that the team did not make it to the second round of the tournament but also managed to qualify for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the class of 17 – 32.

Meanwhile, a strikethrough on the team name suggests that based on their performance during the FIBA World Cup, the team did not qualify for any of the four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

The four winners of the four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, meanwhile, will join the followng eight teams in Paris at the 2024 Olympics.

Victor Wembanyama could lead Team France past Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris

Wembanyama said his goal is to beat the United States.

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.

Victor Wembanyama, the world’s best basketball prospect, has a real chance to make history.

Wembamyama is heavily favored as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and he is projected to make a massive impact during his rookie season for the Spurs. But no matter how it goes in San Antonio, once his first year in the U.S. is over, the big man business to take care of back home in France.

The 7-foot-4 center plans to suit up for Team France when Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.

With him on the floor, Les Bleus has a chance to take home a gold medal in basketball for the first time in the nation’s history. Meanwhile, other than the U.S. in 1984 and 1996, no host country has ever won gold for men’s basketball at the Olympics.

Wembamyama told ESPN on Wednesday:

“There could be no more perfect occasion for me to win my first title with the French national team. …

“My goal … is to beat Team USA in the final.”

During group play in Tokyo, the French team handed the U.S. its first Olympics loss since 2004. The U.S. defeated France in the gold medal game, and France finished with a silver medal.

The French national team is currently ranked No. 5 in the FIBA world rankings, and they finished second in the recent Eurobasket tournament. The roster had several NBA players, including Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.

But the country has never had anyone as dynamic as Wembanyama. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently described the big man as the greatest prospect in the history of team sports, and while that feels aggressive, his size and his skill set make him the most unique.

How many other basketball players in the world can attempt a stepback 3-pointer and then turn it into a putback dunk? There is a reason why Magic Johnson told For The Win that Wembanyama will “change his franchise” and the league forever.

During a four-game stretch in FIBA’s European Qualifiers, Wembanyama suited up for France’s senior squad for the first time.

While he was still just 18 years old during the first two games, his stats were jaw-dropping. Per 40 minutes, via Cerebro Sports: The big man averaged 29.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 4.3 blocks. He also shot 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) on his 3-pointers. France won all four games.

France is coached by Vincent Collet, who also coaches Wembanyama on Metropolitans 92 in France’s top-tier league. Wembanyama secured the scoring title, and he also led the league in rebounds, blocks and total minutes.

Despite the emergence of Wembanyama, however, the U.S. should be favored to win win the gold medal in Paris. But those odds could easily swing based on a decision from Joel Embiid, who gained French citizenship and U.S. citizenship last year.

Former NBA player Boris Diaw, who is the general manager of the French national men’s basketball team, “remains confident” that Embiid will play for Les Bleus in the Olympics.

Embiid could change the landscape of international basketball with his Olympic decision. But he isn’t the only player with a massive decision to make.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, amid speculation about his potential retirement, LeBron James is unlikely to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It’s unclear what the rest of the roster could look like, but it was a mess in Tokyo, and they’ll need serious depth in the frontcourt.

The U.S. frankly may not have the size necessary to match up with a team that includes Embiid, Wembanyama and Gobert. Especially as the host country, France could have a real shot at a gold medal.

Quick Hits: Dirty plays in the NHL … A ridiculously upset Bryce Harper … and more.

— NHL fans couldn’t believe Jamie Benn’s explanation for a dirty crosscheck was the best he could do

— Bryce Harper was lucky to avoid an ejection after furiously shouting at the umpire between innings

— NBA prospect Brandon Miller has an explanation for why he has lost 13 pounds since the NCAA season ended

— Roger Goodell potentially moving the Jaguars to London for 3 weeks is an insult to Jacksonville fans

Until the next time, friends!