Paris draw pits US against Jokic’s Serbia
Team USA will take on Serbia and South Sudan in two of its three group-stage games at the Paris Olympics, while the US women will open their schedule in a gold medalgame rematch against Japan in France this summer.
FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, held the draw for the Paris Games in Mies, Switzerland, on Tuesday, slotting the fields for the 12-team basketball tournaments. The women’s field is complete; the men’s field still has four spots that will go to winners of qualifying tournaments in early July before the Olympics open on July 27.
The US men will be coached by Steve Kerr and are seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal; the US women will be coached by Cheryl Reeve and are seeking an eighth consecutive Olympic title. Both are ranked No 1 in the world, and both programs have been — by far — the dominant force in Olympic basketball since its inception.
The US men open with Serbia on July 28. The US women open with Japan on July 29. Other group-stage games for the US men are July 31 against South Sudan and Aug 3 against a qualifier. The US women also play on Aug 1 against Belgium and Aug 4 against Germany.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of preparing for and playing in the Olympic tournament,” Kerr said. “The excitement continues to build, especially now that we know we will face both Serbia, who finished second at the World Cup last summer, and South Sudan, who we will get to host in London as part of the USA Basketball Showcase.”
The American men will play South Sudan in London a few days before arriving in Paris as part of a pre-Olympics series of exhibitions.
But particularly on the men’s side, gold for the Americans is no longer assured. The US didn’t win a medal at the 2019 World Cup in China nor the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines, and although the Americans intend to send a more star-studded roster to Paris — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and others have said they want to play — that doesn’t guarantee anything.
Carmelo Anthony, who was at the draw as a FIBA ambassador, said it’s clear that international men’s teams “feel confident and comfortable enough to go out there and compete with the USA”.
“It’s all about confidence that these other players and countries have,” said Anthony, one of two threetime men’s basketball gold medalists — fellow US standout Kevin Durant, who will bid for a fourth gold in Paris, is the other. “As far as USA goes, I am praying and hoping that we send the correct team out there. I know what it feels like when you have the right team that’s out there and you go out there trying to win. I’m sure the US will bring the guys that they need to bring in order to get that feeling back.”
The US women will have a goldmedal game rematch from the Tokyo Olympics in the group stage. The Americans open their quest for an eighth consecutive gold medal with group-stage games against Belgium, Germany and Japan — the host three years ago that fell to the US 90-75 in the final at Saitama, Japan.
The US also played Belgium in the most recent women’s World Cup, winning 87-72 in 2022 in a matchup that was a single-digit game in the second half.
That said, the world’s top-ranked team will still be a huge favorite.
“Obviously, you can never go past the US. They’ve proven their dominance and they’re at the pinnacle of the game,” FIBA ambassador and former Australia star Penny Taylor said. “But what I love to see is teams bringing their unique style of play to the Olympics. I love watching Japan and what they do and what they do so well. China, obviously, has always been competitive. My heart is always with Australia and I love to see them out there and I hope they know past Opals are right there with them.”
USA Basketball plans to announce the men’s and women’s teams for the Paris Games later this spring.
Serbia’s men’s roster will likely feature Denver star Nikola Jokic, an NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP who is one of the game’s most dominant players. Serbia finished second to Germany at the World Cup last summer and didn’t even have Jokic on the roster.
In Group C, the US will also face South Sudan and the winner of a qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico — either Mexico, Cote d’Ivoire, Lithuania, Italy, Bahrain or Puerto Rico.
In Group A, Australia and Canada await two qualifying tournament winners — one from Spain (participating nations Spain, Finland, Poland, Bahamas, Lebanon, Angola) and the other in Greece (participating nations Slovenia, New Zealand, Croatia, Egypt, Dominican Republic and Greece).
“There are no groups that are easy after this draw,” FIBA secretary-general Andreas Zagklis said. “Whoever you see smiling, just say, ‘Well, see you in August.’”
PARIS 2024 DRAW Men’s groups
Group A: Australia (world ranking 5), Canada (7), Spain OQT winner, Greece OQT winner.
Group B: Germany (3), France (9), Japan (26), Latvia OQT winner. Group C: United States (1), Serbia (4), South Sudan (33), Puerto Rico OQT winner.
Women’s groups
Group A: China (world ranking 2), Spain (4), Serbia (10), Puerto Rico (11).
Group B: Australia (3), Canada (5), France (7), Nigeria (12). Group C: United States (1), Belgium (6), Japan (9), Germany (19).
Schedule
Group stage: Men, July 27-Aug 3. Women, July 28-Aug 4. Quarterfinals: Men, Aug 6. Women, Aug 7.
Semifinals: Men, Aug 8. Women, Aug 9.
Medal games: Men, Aug 10. Women, Aug 11.
Format
It is the same for the men’s and women’s tournaments. Teams will play three group-stage games. The top two finishers in each group, plus the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.