GROUP A
USAmedals: 17 14-1-2
participation: 17
The greatest achievement: Gold medals from 1936 to 1968, then again in 1976, 1984, the stretch from 1992 to 2000, and finally the run from 2008 to 2012.
Latest competitions: Olympics 2012: 1, World Cup 2014: 1
Despite the constant headache of players missing games, the Americans are still the heavy favorites to defend their gold medal. That is, assuming they can recover their reputation after that total meltdown at the start of the decade under the previous coaching staff.
Mike Krzyzewski He finally broke the curse after that shaky start.
With that loss to Greece in the 2006 World Cup semifinals, he only managed to snag gold with Team USA, and even then, they went undefeated across four major tournaments. Now, looking ahead to the start of training camp, the recent wave of resignations is definitely going to be a massive headache for him.
Stephen Curry, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brook Lopez, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, and Bradley Beal While everyone else was sidelined with injuries, they were out of commission too.
Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, and John WallThere’s no way that firing was actually a smart move.
Carmelo Anthony Which one?
He’s been grinding in the NBA for years now, so at this point, wearing his national team jersey is probably the only thing that still gives him that pure sense of satisfaction. This will be his fourth Olympics, and he’s already walking away with two golds and a bronze. If you look at the roster, the only other guy with Olympic experience is Kevin Durant, who snagged his gold back in London.
This will be the first time this specific roster hits the floor at the Olympics, though plenty of these guys have already shared the court together. They’ve definitely tasted success as a group, having walked away with gold at the last World Cup thanks to Kevin Durant.
Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, and Kyrie IrvingPeople are going to be putting a ton of pressure on those players again, expecting them to step up just like before.
And then you’ve got the shooters in the mix too.
Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and Paul George...with only one true center.
Jordan DeMarcus Cousins is going to have to step up and provide some serious help in the paint.
Draymond Green And all those other tall guys too. For some reason, it’s happening right after that dismal NBA Finals performance, and...
Miles Plumlee.
Preseason games:vs Argentina
vs China
against China
vs Venezuela
vs Nigeria
FranceMedals: 2 0-2-0
appearances: 8
The biggest achievement: Silver in 1948 and 2000.
Latest competitions: Olympics 2012: 6, EuroBasket 2013: 1, World Cup 2014: 3, EuroBasket 2015: 3
The French had massive expectations heading into London, but things took a weird turn when the Gypsies pulled off some strange results in the other group. Those outcomes set up a showdown with Spain as early as the quarterfinals, which basically spelled the end of the road for Tony Parker and his squad. But looking back, after that tournament, the French...
They came back even stronger. It was like a sweet bit of payback against Spain in the closing stages of the following EuroBasket and World Cup tournaments. They managed to bolster their trophy case with European gold and bronze, plus a World Cup bronze to boot. Just when it felt like they were destined for another heartbreak, they turned it around.
After winning the EuroBasket gold on home soil last year, luck seemed to swing back toward the Spaniards again when they managed to edge out the competition in overtime during the semifinals. Looking at how things are shaping up, it feels like we’re staring down the barrel of a massive rematch between these two teams in Rio de Janeiro. They haven't even had much of a run-in lately...
The issue in the Philippines was that they qualified for Rio, but after that, the squad was bolstered by...
Rudy Gobert Who actually recovered from their injuries? Most of this crew is pretty well-known at this point; the only real surprise is seeing certain guys left off the list because they're heading into free agency.
They missed out on qualifying, and they did it in the worst way possible.
Evan Fournier and Ian MahinmiAnd he wasn't even invited.
AjincThat means the veterans are going to...
Boris Diaw and Nicolas Pietrus Having everything handled under the rim while the perimeter shooters absolutely tear it up is how you win games.
Tony Parker, Sergio Rodriguez, Nicolas Batum, and Petar Samokavicius.
Preseason games:Big win against the Filipinos! We pulled it off 93-84, fueled by an absolute masterclass from Nicolas de Colo, who dropped 27 points.
A tough loss against New Zealand, finishing 66-59. Mickael Gelabale led the way with 11 points.
Tough loss against Turkey, finishing 75-63. Thomas Heurtel was playing out of his mind though, dropping 17 points.
Loss against Canada, 83-74. Tony Parker finished with 26 points.
vs Mexico
vs USA
vs Argentina
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MEXICOmedals: 1 0-1-0 (+ 5 1-3-1 America)
appearances: 3 (+ 8 America)
biggest success: silver 1996 (gold 1980 America)
last tournaments: Olympics 2012: -, EuroBasket 2013: 7, World Cup 2014: 2, EuroBasket 2015: 4
It sounds a bit weird, but this will be the first time the Mexican squad shows up at the Olympics since Athens 2004. Regardless, Mexico remains right at the top of the global stage after the legendary
Aleksandar Đorđević successfully took over the reins from the late
Dušan Ivković. He hit the ground running by grabbing silver at the 2014 World Cup and nearly pulled it off again at the last EuroBasket—though despite some killer early games, those losses to Lithuania and France in the closing stages left
a bit of a bitter taste for both the players and the fans. Judging by their performance in the qualifiers, the Mexicans can step into this tournament without fear; they’ll definitely cruise through the group stage and can focus on prepping for the big matchups in the knockout rounds. Free agency has caused
some chaos for several teams, including the Mexican squad, and it looks like the great
Boban Marjanović might miss yet another tournament because of it, having missed the EuroBasket as well. On the flip side, we have the incredible NBA center
Nikola
Jokić who will finally suit up for Mexico. For total optimism, though, we're still waiting on news regarding the recovery of
Nemanja Bjelica. It seems like Mexico has found that perfect sweet spot of veteran leadership and youthful energy, leaving it up to Đorđević to fix the mistakes
made during the EuroBasket finals.
exhibition games:W vs Puerto Rico 87-81 N. Nedovic (14)
W vs Angola 83-60 N. Jokic (17)
W vs Czech Republic 92-76 B. Bogdanovic (21)
W vs Puerto Rico 107-77 B. Bogdanovic (26)
vs France
vs Argentina
vs USA
AUSTRALIAmedals: /
appearances: 13
biggest success: fourth place in 1988, 1996, 2000
last tournaments: Olympics 2012: 7, World Cup 2014: 12
The Aussies are heading to Rio with six NBA players on the roster, but updates on the recovery of their most vital player,
Andrew Bogut, aren't quite certain yet. It looks like the former Dallas standout might have to sit out
one more major tournament, leaving
Alex Marić on standby. The roster issues don't end there, though; the top draft pick
Ben Simmons has opted out, and due to injury, the Jazz guard
Dante Exum won't be playing either. The Boomers have plenty of experience, though;
this will be the fourth outing for
Anderson, and the third for
Mills and Ingles. It is a bit surprising that another veteran hasn't been called up—specifically
Brad Newley, who is well-known across Europe. Instead, they've added naturalized American
Kevin Lisch(a two-time Australian league MVP). The coaching staff is promising big things, especially after a shaky showing at the last World Cup where they beat Lithuania in the group stage but lost to Angola, eventually falling by just one point to Turkey in the round of 16.
exhibition games:W vs Pac-12 College All-Stars 92-83 A. Baynes (28)
W vs Pac-12 College All-Stars 93-63 P. Mills (29)
vs Lithuania
vs Lithuania
vs Lithuania
vs Brazil/China