With the Paris Olympics set to get underway on July 26, USA Basketball’s training camp has begun this week.
Designed to give the team some practice reps to get fresh and build chemistry together, the training camp will play a vital role as the squad looks to capture its fifth straight gold medal and 17th gold medal in 20 Olympic appearances.
LeBron James, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Edwards are just some of the players who have joined the 2024 team that didn’t play in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The elevated competition worldwide won’t make things easy for the US, but the team has plenty of impact players, featuring a roster of the NBA’s best.
With such a talented roster, coach Steve Kerr may have his work cut out to determine a number-one scoring option. Luckily for Kerr, Edwards has him covered.
“I’m still the No. 1 option,” Edwards said Monday, via ESPN. “Y’all might look at it differently, but I don’t. I just go out there and be myself. … Shoot my shots, play defense. They’ve got to fit in to play around me. That’s how I feel,” Team USA’s youngest player added.
Quotes like these are always interesting. While it’s very bold and brash of Edwards, it also comes with a level of confidence that is particularly important for a 22-year-old to exhibit. He’s also coming off a career-best 25.9 points per game for the 2023-24 season.
[ESPN]