Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics have already gotten together, having their first round of practice and scrimmages in Las Vegas over the weekend. The scrimmages were open to media, who showed up and captured stars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards making a barrage of practice threes without missing.
Curry unsurprisingly had the best shooting performance, as the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made converted 18 consecutive shots without a miss.
KNOCKING 'EM DOWN 🔥
Can’t wait to see Steph in Paris! #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/RDkQmjRf4r
— NBA (@NBA) July 7, 2024
Kevin Durant is one of the smoothest scorers in the history of the NBA and effortlessly went 10-10 on 3-pointers during shootaround.
— 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✰ (@Hatedzs) July 8, 2024
Anthony Edwards was the only one of the trio to miss a shot, going 19-20 while shooting practice threes. He made 18 shots consecutively before missing one, which shows how elite these players are as shooters outside a game situation.
Anthony Edwards, an hour into his shooting workout, drilling corner 3s for about a minute straight. pic.twitter.com/djOknjjyb4
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) July 6, 2024
We’ve seen multiple non-shooters in the NBA become version of Curry, Eay Allen, or Larry Bird in summertime or practice clips. Almost every NBA player could make an open practice three-pointer, but relying on most of them to do the same during a game will net poor results.
Curry averaged 26.4 points on 40.8% from three last season, while Durant put up 27.1 points on 41.7% from three. Edwards was the weakest shooter of the group but still averaged 25.9 points on 35.1% from three last season.
Anthony Edwards Wants To Be Team USA’s No. 1 Option
Anthony Edwards made it clear during press interviews ahead of Paris 2024 that he views himself as Team USA’s No. 1 option despite the superstar names on the roster.
“I’m still the number one option. Y’all might look at it differently, I don’t care… I gotta go out there and do myself. Shoot my shots, play defense, they got to fit in to play around me. That’s how I feel.”
Edwards will have to work hard to even solidify a starting spot on Team USA, with names like Steph, Durant, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid likely locked in as starters. That leaves an opening for a two-guard, but Edwards will have to compete against Devin Booker for that spot, if not against the likes of Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard in a hybrid lineup.
Even with the confidence Edwards has in himself, he views Durant as the player who’ll be the primary offensive option when Team USA needs a closer.
“I think Kevin Durant. He better be. That’s who I came to see… We been talkin’ the whole time. It’s dope.”
Edwards has been an avid appreciator of Kevin Durant since he entered the NBA, eliminating his Phoenix Suns from the 2024 Playoffs with a sweep series win in the first round. Edwards and Durant are bound to shrug that series off as Ant looks to learn from the likes of KD.
The time he’s spending with these legends who’ll probably be retired by the next Olympic cycle is going to heavily influence him going forward.
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