Five Controversies Facing the 2024 USA Mens Basketball Team

The National Basketball Association is the second most popular league in North America because the superstars dominate the landscape and are the most recognizable athletes in sports. The league is popular because there is always drama between players, teams, and fans. We were led to believe that drama ended in June when the Celtics won the 2024 Finals. However, every four years, the best players in the league lace up their shoes to play for their national teams in Olympic basketball. The decision not to select certain superstars has led to controversy in the past, such as the legendary non-selection of Isaiah Thomas to the 1992 Dream Team. In 2024, the controversies are numerous, and the spotlight is on this team as they play Game 2 of the Group Stages today at 2pm against South Sudan. In this article, we will discuss the top 5 controversies surrounding the 2024 USA Mens Basketball team.

5. Embiid gets booed in France for choosing to play for the US- Joel Embiid takes pride as a Cameroonian and is one of the best players to emerge from the continent of Africa. However, in 2022, after it became clear that Cameroon would not make the Olympics, France believed they secured Embiid as a player on the team after issuing him citizenship status. Although he had never lived in France, the transition would not be difficult for the 76ers Center because he speaks fluent French. However, Embiid flip-flopped on the decision by playing for the United States. In their 110-84 win over Serbia in Game 1, Embiid felt the wrath of the French home crowd by getting booed by the fans. Notably, a fan yelled at him while boarding the team bus stating, “Give back your passport. You should have played for France. You’re not American.” Ouch! Team U.S.A. will not need Embiid to be dominant because he played only 11 minutes and scored 4 points in Game 1. However, look for the big man to respond in the upcoming games and quiet the crowd.

4. Kwahi Leonard gets sent home-Kawhi is a two-time NBA Champion and one of the best two-way superstars in the league. However, the man nicknamed the Claw has battled knee injuries for the past few seasons and even missed most of the playoffs this year. It led to the Clippers first-round exit to the Dallas Mavericks, who eventually made it to the NBA Finals. Therefore, it was intriguing that Kawhi showed up at the Men’s USA Camp with the desire to play in Paris on the Olympic Team. However, he failed to play in the first exhibition gam, and then he was reportedly withdrawn from the team list due to his injury situation. The decision made sense because Leonard had been battling inflammation for months. However, Clippers’ President Lawrence Frank poured cold water on the story by stating that the franchise did not support the decision and expressed disappointment in the USA Basketball decision. He said that Kawhi, “looked good and had “no setback.” The situation appears curious given that Clippers Coach Ty Lue is an Assistant Coach on Team USA and would be part of the decision-making process. Yes, the decision was controversial.

3. Derrick White gets picked over Jaylen Brown- the Boston Celtics won the 2024 Championship in early June because of a MVP performance from Jaylen Brown. The US roster had 2 Celtics players that led the team to banner 18: Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday. However, after the controversial withdrawal of Kawhi Leonard, the logical decision would be to replace Kawhi with another dominant wing in Jaylen. Instead, management went in another direction by selecting Derrick White as a replacement. White made an all-defensive team and would have All-Star considerations on any other franchise. Yet, Jaylen was the more deserving player to fill the spot, and he hinted that his criticism of Nike’s handling of the Kyrie Irving as the basis for his non-inclusion on the team. Managing Director of Team Us, Grant Hill, cited a need for a defensive guard in Derrick White as the preferred skill needed to fill the vacant slot. Yet, this was another highly controversial storyline surrounding the team.

2. Jayson Tatum gets benched-In June, Jayson Tatum climbed to the mountain top by winning his first Championship. Also, Tatum was selected to be part of the Olympic team and is projected to play a pivotal role in securing the gold medal. However, in Game 1, Coach Steve Kerr made a curious decision bynot playing Tatum and instead gave Kevin Durant bigger minutes in the blowout win against Serbia. Durant responded by scoring 23 points and an efficient 8 of 9 from the field, 5 of 5 from three-pointers, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. In retrospect, Kerr said the decision was crazy, and Tatum will play a role in today’s matchup against South Sudan. It will be interesting to see how Kerr manages the minutes and egos of the team going forward.

1. Will they survive and win the gold?-the only expectation for USA Men’s Basketball is to win gold at the Olympics. Any other result is considered a failure. The team has won the gold medal since the 2008 Redeem Team which featured Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James. In the Exhibition games in preparation for the Olympics, the team won all five games but struggled against South Sudan by falling behind by 16 points. However, Lebron bailed them out with a driving layup to give them a one-point win, and against Germany, they won by only 4 points. The pressure is on to deliver on expectations and to win by big margins. Ultimately, this team is too talented for the field, and whether you win by a point or by two dozen points, they will walk away from Paris with the gold.