Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant are the only holdovers from 2012’s gold medal-winning team, and four others as well as Durant (DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, and Kyrie Irving) all helped out during the World Cup run in 2014, but others like Chicago Bulls All-Star guard Jimmy Butler may need to adjust to the worldwide game and calls.
Advertisement
The fact that the title will include both the Dream Team and the Olympic Basketball team is no small feat.
“Before the game started, we kind of knew the result”, Gong told United States of America reporters after the first loss. “I don’t think anybody’s going to have the same role that they had with their individual team in the National Basketball Association”. The way this team is stacked with great players has shown that they are not going to have many roadblocks on their way to the gold medal this summer. In one game, United States of America easily beat China with a final score of 107 – 57. Irving hit the defining shot of the championship, a go-ahead 3-pointer over two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry with less than a minute left in Game 7.
“Their defense is good”, Cox said of the U.S.
This U.S. team has the talent to win gold in Rio but needs to play better than it did Friday. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will even appear in the game providing a major role.
This new wrinkle comes after 2K announced a partnership with USA Basketball.
As part of the 2016 USA Basketball Showcase, the US Basketball Men’s National Team will face the 2015 FIBA Africa zone champion Nigeria on August 1 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The players can experiment a lot in the game aside from matching up the 1992 Dream Team against the 2016 Team USA.
The U.S. has won 63 straight games, 45 in FIBA competitions and 18 in exhibition play.
This game should mean much more for Venezuela than it does for the USA – can the national team face up against a world powerhouse like the US?
Advertisement
But Irving is also a leader among former Blue Devils as one of the most successful former Duke players in the National Basketball Association and the first in a recent string of one-and-done prospects.
