Paris Olympics: US basketball teams get tough draws for group stage, women open with gold medal rematch against Japan
- US men expected to field team full of NBA stars, with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Joel Embiid all saying they want to play
- Chinese women, who are ranked second in the world, will face Spain, Serbia and Puerto Rico
USA Basketball’s men’s team will face Serbia and South Sudan in two of their three group-stage games at the Paris Olympics, while the women will open their schedule in a gold medal rematch against Japan in France this summer.
China’s women, who are ranked second the world, have been drawn in Group A, alongside Spain, Serbia and Puerto Rico.
Fiba, the sport’s global organising body, held the draw for the Games on Tuesday, and while the women’s field is complete, there are still four spots up for grabs in men’s qualifying tournaments before the Olympics open on July 27.
The US men will be coached by Steve Kerr and are seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal, the US women will be coached by Cheryl Reeve and are seeking an eighth consecutive Olympic title. Both are ranked No 1 in the world, and both programmes have been the dominant force in Olympic basketball since its inception.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of preparing for and playing in the Olympic tournament,” Kerr said. “The excitement continues to build, especially now that we know we will face both Serbia, who finished second at the World Cup last summer, and South Sudan, who we will get to host in London as part of the USA Basketball Showcase.”
The American men will play South Sudan in London a few days before arriving in Paris as part of a pre-Olympics series of exhibitions.
