Team USA’s 2024 projected starting lineup has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. But for the players involved, they will each be coming into the tournament after a humbling performance during the season and it could be signaling the start of a new era for the NBA.
With Embiid and the Sixers getting sent home by the Knicks, the possible Team USA starters will get more time to rest before the Olympics 👀
Is there someone you want to change on this starting 5?
Steph Curry
Devin Booker
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Joel Embiid pic.twitter.com/zSJ8OwBvP3
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 3, 2024
To date, the expected starters for Team USA in the Paris Olympic games include Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid. They are among the most recognizable faces in the game and their list of achievements stretches far and wide.
But after getting eliminated on Thursday, Embiid marks the fifth and final member of Team USA’s star-studded lineup to see permanent defeat this post-season and none of them even made it past the first-round. In the case of Stephen Curry, his team couldn’t even advance past the play-in tournament after losing against the Kings in the 9/10 game.
The Suns also somehow failed to win even a single playoff game this year despite a healthy series from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Many experts picked them to advance against a young and inexperienced Timberwolves team but in the end, they got exposed in the worst way possible and doubts have never been higher on their future.
The only other legend besides Embiid, who managed to win at least one playoff game this year, was LeBron James, and it took nearly everything he had to steal a single win against the defending champs (Denver Nuggets) in round one.
In 2024, we are seeing before our eyes the transition of a new era of NBA basketball, led by young stars like Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Shai Glilgeous-Alexander. Of course, the OGs will not so easily give up their grip on the league but it’s becoming abundantly clear they aren’t as indestructible as they used to be.
Is Team USA Starting 5 Overrated?
As the NBA postseason shakes out, fans are starting to wonder if Team USA should consider changing its opening lineup entirely. In just the first round, we saw most of their projected starters get demolished by their opponents and their place at the top is being now challenged like never before.
Joel Embiid, specifically is getting a lot of slack for, once again, not getting out of the first round and fans are having a field day at his expense. But it’s important to note that he’s not the only superstar-caliber player to get bounced early in the playoffs this year.
Kevin Durant has also taken some damage to his legacy. Nothing can take away what he was able to accomplish with the Warriors during those back-to-back title years but this first-round defeat is just further evidence to prove that he can only win when the deck is stacked in his favor.
Devin Booker’s loyalty has brought him enough good-will with the fans but his mediocre performance against the Timberwolves did not reflect well on his ability to lead in the highest-pressure moments. While he finished as the team’s leading scorer with 27.5 points per game, Booker wasn’t himself through the four games and he didn’t play well enough to avoid a sweep.
Stephen Curry has already done it plenty of times before and he’s given us enough reasons to trust in his abilities already. But at 36 years old, Curry doesn’t have much longer left at an elite level of play, and the signs of his decline were evident this past season in the form of wildly fluctuating shooting streaks.
Like Durant and Curry, LeBron James is at a point where it’s just downhill from here and it’s only a matter of time before he decides to walk away. For now, only LeBron knows which way he’s leaning but it might not be too bad to let this final stint for Team USA close out the final act of his NBA career. At least that way, he’d have a real chance to end as a winner.
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