By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Devin Booker and the rest of USA Basketball are getting an extra incentive when they are reminded how other national teams can threaten them in the upcoming Olympic Games.
It’s another reason they want to remind everyone that the USA is still the unquestionable dominant power when it comes to hoops.
“I hear a lot of people saying everybody’s catching up to us too, so that keeps us hungry, that keeps us motivated,” Booker said per AP. “We have a lot of respect for those guys, but basketball still lies here.”
Now a nine-year veteran with the Phoenix Suns at 27, Booker will be playing in his second straight Olympic Games tournament. He was a member of the 2020 US squad that won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, averaging 9.3 points and 3.2 rebounds while scoring 20 in the semifinal win over Australia.
That edition of USA Basketball features players like Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum but the roster can’t be compared with this year’s team. Now, there’s LeBron James, Steph Curry, Durant once more and Anthony Davis, among others. Booker, Tatum as well as 2020 team member Bam Adebayo have further developed their game into new heights.
USA will be facing Serbia, Puerto Rico and South Sudan in the Group Stage of the Olympics. The two top teams from each Group as well as the two third-placed teams with the best ranking advance to the quarterfinals.
Photo: FIBA Basketball