The are just around the corner! National pride is about to be at an all-time high for the next little while, with sports fans tuning in to watch their nations compete in a bevy of athletic competitions. One of the headliners of the Summer Games is always Men's Olympic Basketball. The sport has a massive global audience and is always filled with stars well-known to the casual viewer.
Players like and , who will both be competing in the event, will even be the flag bearers for their respective countries this year. One would imagine that it would be a big honor for both of those men. This year's tournament to decide the best basketball nations on the planet should be a particularly interesting one.
The days of the USA having a death grip on the sport are fading away. Make no mistake about it, the USA is still the event. There is .
However, the rest of the world is starting to catch up and make the competition a lot more interesting. In recent days, nothing showcases that better than the in the Olympic tune-up games. It took a game-winning layup from LeBron with less than 10 seconds in the game to secure the victory.
The 2024 Olympic Games are sure to provide some fantastic basketball for fans of the sport. The talented rosters that some of these teams are bringing into the competition are one of the main reasons to stay glued to one's seat. Breaking down who has the five best rosters heading into the tournament feels more challenging this year than many others.
Germany will enter this tournament confident after winning the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They knocked off Serbia 83-77 in the finals to secure the gold medal for their country. Team Germany – Olympic Roster Guard Isaac Bonga Forward Oscar da Silva Forward-Guard Niels Giffey Guard Maodo Lo Guard Andreas Obst Guard Dennis Schröder Forward-Center Daniel Theis Center-Forward Johannes Thiemann Forward-Center Johannes Voigtmann Forward Franz Wagner Center-Forward Moritz Wagner Guard Nick Weiler-Babb Germany will hope to build on their success at the FIBA World Cup by bringing back a lot of the same names that got them the win in the first place.
There will be plenty of returning faces. was the catalyst for the Germans' World Cup victory. The guard was named the MVP of the tournament after the European nation's win in 2023.
Another key component of that winning team was the Wagner brothers. and of the will both be back with Team Germany for this run. big man is another name most NBA fans will be familiar with.
He should provide a reliable presence for the Germans at the tournament. The problem for Germany is not who they are bringing to the tournament, it is more a matter of whom the other teams will have available to them this time. Their roster is very good, and they should be able to compete admirably at the Olympics.
However, the other teams around them have bolstered their teams since 2023. Germany should be considered a threat to capture a medal at the event. will offer them a competitive, yet fair opportunity to advance to the knockout stages.
They just are not as imposing of a threat by comparison to the teams above them. Germany's run at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was impressive, but Serbia's may have been even more eye-catching when considering the circumstances. They lost in the finals of the event, but they were able to make that run without the best player in the world.
Now, will be available for the 2024 Olympics. The boost he provides to this team makes them a lot more imposing of a threat than before. Team Serbia – Olympic Roster Guard Vasilije Micic Guard Vanja Marinković Guard Ognjen Dobrić Guard-Forward Bogdan Bogdanović Guard-Forward Marko Gudurić Guard Aleksa Avramović, Forward Nikola Jović Forward Vladimir Lučić Guard Ognjen Jaramaz Forward Aleksej Pokuševski Forward-Center Dušan Ristić Forward Dejan Davidovac Center Nikola Jokić Center Filip Petrusev Center Nikola Milutinov Serbia is the only nation on this list that does not have a twelve-man roster.
The relatively small country boasts a powerful collection of basketball players. The superstar will be the name everyone is familiar with. Jokić's presence means that Serbia should be considered a relatively safe bet to qualify for the knockout stages after securing one of the top spots in .
Players that NBA fans will also immediately recognize include wing and youngster . Serbia runs a good brand of team basketball that should make them a tough out for anybody. The three rosters ahead of them, though, are just a little more loaded with talent.
France will be hosting this year's Olympic Games. As such, they earned an automatic qualification spot in the basketball tournament. However, that does not mean they would not have earned a spot without such luxuries.
France won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. They will be looking to repeat that success on home soil. Their chances should be significantly boosted by the presence of young phenom .
Team France – Olympic Roster Guard Andrew Albicy Forward Nicolas Batum Guard Isaia Cordinier Forward Bilal Coulibaly Guard Nando de Colo Guard-Forward Evan Fournier Center Rudy Gobert Forward Mathias Lessort Guard Frank Ntilikina Guard Matthew Strazel Forward-Center Victor Wembanyama Forward Guerschon Yabusele Having to go through a defense led by Wembanyama and will be a tough ask for any team. This is especially true when one considers the differences between the . France's biggest concern about their roster would have to be the guard positions.
It feels somewhat surprising that they did not reach into the pipeline to include a talented, young guard like Nolan Traoré to help stabilize the backcourt. In general, France left a lot of talented youngsters off the team. To some extent, whether this was the best course of action for their podium aspirations.
This is, by far and away, the best roster that Canada has ever brought to the Olympic basketball stage. There are serious aspirations of not only securing a spot on the podium but winning the whole tournament. Team Canada – Olympic Roster Guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker Forward RJ Barrett Center Khem Birch Guard-Forward Dillon Brooks Guard-Forward Luguentz Dort Forward Melvin Ejim Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Forward-Center Trey Lyles Guard Jamal Murray Guard Andrew Nembhard Center-Forward Kelly Olynyk Center Dwight Powell Canada will feature the second-most NBA players in this tournament behind the USA.
There should be plenty of that Canada can use to try and secure their first-ever gold medal. This team could have been even more talented had the not blocked from . stepping away from the team in favor of Summer League did not help the cause either.
In spite of that, the headliners of , , , and will hope to make a major splash for the team in Paris. Canada's lack of size will be the biggest issue that the team will face at the tournament. If they can overcome their relative lack of quality depth at the big man spot, they will be a major threat to win the event.
After a disappointing run at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Americans came in locked and loaded for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The team failed to secure a medal at that tournament, losing to Canada in the bronze medal game. Now, the Avengers are here.
Team USA – Olympic Roster Forward LeBron James Guard Stephen Curry Forward Kevin Durant Center Joel Embiid Guard Devin Booker Forward Jayson Tatum Center-Forward Anthony Davis Guard Tyrese Haliburton Guard-Forward Anthony Edwards Guard Jrue Holiday Center-Forward Bam Adebayo Guard Derrick White was a late inclusion to the team after . was , but one really with this team. Regardless, the USA boasts an absolute superteam heading into this tournament.
They will be everyone's tournament favorite by a mile. One area of concern for the USA could be an overreliance on their aging stars like James, , , etc. However, that feels like more of a problem for future iterations of the team than this one.
The USA will easily have the best roster at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Despite being drafted with the top two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, France's Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher won't be playing in the Olympics..
