The USA is bringing an extremely strong team to France, even said to be stronger than the 1992 “Dream Team” led by the “King of Basketball,” Michael Jordan.

This is a rare occurrence because, in recent years, most top NBA stars have refused to participate in international tournaments, including the Olympics. However, this has changed as the two greatest stars of the generation, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, both want to play in the Olympics. This desire has influenced many other players to join.

As a result, the USA has assembled an extremely powerful lineup with some of the world’s top stars. This is not only a headache for the USA’s opponents but also for the American coaching staff. Coach Steve Kerr has 12 of the most talented players at his disposal, and choosing who to play and who to leave out is challenging.

“We are talking about Kevin Durant; he comes in as the sixth man,” Curry said. “That shows how good this team can be. We are still trying to build an identity around these 12 people. It’s important to focus not only on winning but also on how we do it.”

Kevin Durant is one of the greatest NBA stars in history. He is also one of the most popular basketball players in the world. Therefore, Durant having to play as a substitute is a prime example of how the USA has an abundance of stars.

Coach Steve Kerr admitted that he almost couldn’t give enough time to all 12 players in a 40-minute game. As a result, some stars barely get a chance to play.

In the opening match against Serbia, the USA easily won 110-84. However, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum did not play a single minute. This decision led to criticism from many experts in the USA. Both are the number one stars on their respective NBA teams, with Tatum even being an NBA champion and considered the future number one star for the USA.

“It seems crazy, but I think this is the lineup I want. Jayson has been in the All-NBA First Team for three consecutive years. He is one of the best basketball players in the world. It’s difficult, but Jayson has handled it well. There will be changes in the next games, and Jayson will have the opportunity to play. I feel foolish for not utilizing Jayson, but it’s impossible with only 40 minutes in a game,” Coach Steve Kerr said.

There are some differences in the rules between the NBA and FIBA, one of which is game duration. In the NBA, a game has 4 quarters, each lasting 12 minutes, resulting in a 48-minute game. Meanwhile, the Paris 2024 Olympics follows the format of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each game also has 4 quarters, but each quarter only lasts 10 minutes, making each game only 40 minutes long. This results in some substitute players having little to no playing time.

The USA will face South Sudan at 2:00 AM on August 2nd. This is an opportunity for Tatum to impress the coaching staff before the group stage concludes