USA Basketball will have to shake off some close pre-tournament games in order to win its fifth straight gold medal at the Summer Olympics.
This time around, in Paris, the U.S. team is even a longer favorite than it was in the 2020 games, the first held since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide ban on sports gambling.
While the U.S. team entered the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as -360 favorites, this version of the U.S. team is -500, according to odds from DraftKings.
Olympic Men’s Basketball Odds to Win Gold: 2024 Summer Olympics
| Olympic Basketball Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| USA | -500 |
| Canada | +1100 |
| France | +1400 |
| Serbia | +1500 |
| Greece | +1900 |
| Germany | +3000 |
| Australia | +4500 |
| Spain | +5000 |
| Brazil | +10000 |
| South Sudan | +25000 |
| Puerto Rico | +30000 |
| Japan | +50000 |
That's not without its foibles, though. The U.S. team nearly lost to South Sudan as a -41.5 favorite. Instead, Team USA went down by as many as 14 points and needed late-game heroics from LeBron James to pull them out of the doldrums. James hit a clutch layup with eight seconds to go to give the Americans the lead.
And again, earlier this week, the U.S. team had problems in a pre-tournament game. On Monday, Team USA faltered slightly against Germany, needing James to score the team's last 11 points to eke out a four-point win.
Yet, the market doesn't seem to have cared about the lackluster performances. Team USA's odds didn't move an inch after nearly losing to South Sudan — they remained at -500. The same was true after its near-loss to Germany.
Intensity was low in those games early on. It stands to reason that players weren't trying as hard, especially in the first half.
Team USA won't start with a warmup game against an easy opponent. The squad begins its tournament against Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Sunday, July 28 at 11:15 a.m. ET.
USA Basketball Schedule
| Game | Date, Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| USA vs. Serbia | Sunday, July 28, 11:15 a.m. ET | NBC |
| USA vs. South Sudan | Wednesday, July 31, 3 p.m. ET | USA |
| USA vs. Puerto Rico | Saturday, Aug. 3, 11:15 p.m. ET | NBC |
In the likely event that the US makes the knockout stages, that specific schedule will be released in due time.
