Following last year’s heartbreak in the FIBA World Cup, Team USA has assembled a star-studded roster to take the world aback. Expectedly, this team will enter the competition as heavy favorites to retain its Olympic gold medal. Amidst the anticipation over this roster, Rachel Nichols outlined the expectations around them, garnering the fans’ attention.
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During the latest UNDISPUTED episode, she claimed this roster to be at par with the historical national teams. Consequently, the supporters expect this team to win nothing but gold for the USA. Justifying the demands of the fans, Nichols stated,
“Would be hugely embarrassing [if they lost] because the way this team is being viewed and hyped, it’s one of the best Olympics teams the USA has had ever. You’re gonna compare them to the Dream Team, to that Redeem Team. Other than that, they are right up there… I still think the USA should absolutely win this tournament… There is a reality that they have better players and therefore the perception is they should win”.
“This would be hugely embarrassing if they lost. The way this team is viewed and hyped, it’s one of the best USA teams ever.”@Rachel__Nichols on expectations of Team USA winning gold pic.twitter.com/0RwXRRWwSj
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 9, 2024
Amidst the high expectations, her words portrayed a near-accurate picture of the circumstances. After all, this roster possesses NBA champions and future Hall of Famers such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis. These players are set to lay a strong foundation for the rest of the team.
On top of this, experienced stars such as Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid, Jrue Holiday, and Jayson Tatum provide this team with unfathomable depth. Additionally, young All-Stars such as Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton add much-needed balance to this squad. As a result, on paper, none of the rival nations come close to matching this team’s strength.
However, basketball is a game that is not played on paper. So, on their day, any other competitor can humiliate this side. This roster remains well aware of this possibility, forcing them to never take this advantage for granted.
