As per usual, the United States is the overwhelming favorite to win gold in Olympic basketball. It’d be a bigger shock to see them lose once than win each game by 20-plus points. Yet, there’s a reason they play the games. Keeping that in mind, a few of our writers discussed which team will come closest to upsetting (or will actually beat) the U.S. in Olympic men’s hoops?
Ilia Shatashvili: You don’t expect to get through the grueling European qualifying tournament and sneak into the Olympics when the average age of your team is in the lower 20’s and the team leader is 22. But that’s exactly what Croatia did (and in style no less), defeating very talented Greece and Italy teams. Dario Saric led the team on both ends of the floor and outplayed NBA stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Danilo Gallinari. Mario Hezonja is finally showing signs of fulfilling his promise and getting meaningful minutes. Bojan Bogdanovic is a scoring force in international play, and his efficiency will dictate whether Croatia can threaten the worlds elites in Team USA and Spain. Veterans Roko Ukic and Miro Bilan fill out the roster at PG and C. Look for the Croatians to compete in every game and combined with their mercurial talent and youthful naivety anything really is possible. The sky is the limit, but regardless as to whether they trip and fall or play to their potential, expect this group of feisty youngsters to fight with flair and grit and provide the fans with a very enjoyable and exciting brand of team basketball. Any team that doesn’t come prepared against Croatia will pay the price of underrating a young group of players that just wants to go out there and compete. This bunch reminds me of the 2011-2012 Thunder, a team that everyone knew was on the rise but didn’t quite realize that they could really go as far as the NBA finals. Watch for Croatia to earn a medal, but I won’t venture to predict from what material.
Gabriel Allen: I’m taking France. They have elite rim protection in Rudy Gobert, one of the game’s most versatile wings in Nic Batum, and two of the wiliest veterans in Boris Diaw and Tony Parker. Furthermore, Spain isn’t nearly as scary without Marc Gasol, and the U.S. seems set to run up the score on most clubs.
Daniel Coughlin: France is a nice choice. Just imagine if they had Evan Fournier. They look much better than Australia and more in their prime than Argentina. Doesn’t help Spain that Marc Gasol is out. My first thought wasn’t “team” in the traditional sense. I bothered to go on Google and search for “craziest night club Rio” and hoped that something appropriate would appear. There were a couple of decent things, but nothing that met my high standards of debauchery and pomp. Since Team USA is supposedly shacked up on a boat, it seems likely that their party shenanigans will be reined in just enough to keep them on track for the big prize. The rosters and potential for Lithuania and Serbia are also there to push the United States with FIBA rules and officiating in place. Yet, there is one team that I have not yet mentioned which is the team that will be the most likely to defeat Team USA: teamsnapchat.
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