Star-studded 12-man roster in UAE for games against Australia and Serbia at Etihad Arena
Team USA landed in Abu Dhabi on Friday ahead of a pair of exhibition matches in the UAE as they prepare to go for basketball gold at the Paris Olympics this summer.
The team are set for a few days of practice before games against Australia on July 15 and Serbia on July 17 at Yas Island’s Etihad Arena as they aim to iron out the kinks of a squad still getting to know each other.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was seen embracing a young fan while four-time NBA champion Steph Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, and coach Steve Kerr, were pictured posing with a falcon upon their arrival.
Team USA had departed for the UAE in good spirits after a victory over Canada in a warm-up match in Las Vegas on Wednesday. James and Curry made a winning start playing alongside each other for the first time as international teammates as the US recovered from an early deficit to cruise to victory in what was their final game at home.
The two NBA superstars are part of a formidable roster that will be chasing a fifth consecutive gold medal when the Paris Olympics gets under way this month.
“We know we can be a lot better but we’ve only been together four days,” James said after Wednesday’s win when former US President Barack Obama was among the crowd. “All the miscues offensively, and the turnovers. We’ll get better with that – but it starts on the defensive end. As long as we defend we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win every night.”
Curry agreed that defence would be the key to their Olympics campaign. “We can work out the kinks and the timing on offence, but if we compete like that and commit to playing defence, we’ll be fine against anybody,” Curry said.
“This is always a fun format when you get this collection of guys together. It’s a test and a challenge to try to figure out the chemistry, just the flow and the rhythm.”
As usual, the only acceptable outcome in Paris will be the gold medal. However, their most recent one, in Tokyo three years ago, was anything but easy to win.
The US trailed Spain by 10 in the quarter-finals, trailed Australia by 15 in the semi-finals, and beat France by only five in the gold medal game.
It was yet another reminder that in the international game, winning isn’t automatic for the Americans anymore. And frankly, that’s a notion they’re tired of hearing about.
“I hear a lot of people saying everybody’s catching up to us too, so that keeps us hungry, that keeps us motivated,” US guard Devin Booker said. “We have a lot of respect for those guys, but basketball still lies here.”
That said, nobody can put together a roster like the US – all of them All-Stars, led by veterans like three-time medalists James and Kevin Durant and Olympic rookie Curry – and there will be history on the line for several of those big names.
Durant could become the first men’s player with four Olympic basketball golds and the Americans are trying to win five Olympic titles in a row for the first time since winning the first seven competitions held from 1936 through 1968.
“It’s going to be historic for sure with this team, so I’m just happy to be a part of it, honestly,” said guard Anthony Edwards, one of the Olympic newcomers on the roster. “I ain’t even thought about it too much. Just happy to be a part of it.”
