with the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, the USA Men’s Basketball team is still undergoing some changes. It’s been reported by Shams Charania on X that Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers is withdrawing from Team USA. With sources saying that Boston Celtics guard Derrick White is a “strong candidate” to replace him.
This would have been the first appearance in the Olympics for Leonard. The 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team released a statement about the decision via a post on X:
Over the past three weeks, Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics and had a couple of excellent sessions in Las Vegas. He was feeling competitive.
He does, however, accept the Clippers’ and USA Basketball’s decision that it would be better for him to spend the rest of the summer getting ready for the upcoming season rather than competing in the Olympics in Paris.
White’s presence on the squad would bring a level of toughness and a do-it-all mentality that works well on the international stage. White recently won his first NBA championship.
White is smaller than Leonard (6 feet 4 inches), thus the popular thinking is that he might have trouble against bigger opponents, particularly on the interior. NBA.com/stats, however, indicates that’s just not the case. White reduced opponents to 6.9% worse shooting on shots within six feet during the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
This was a holdover from the regular season of 2023–24, when White stopped opponents from shooting 5.1% worse from the same distance.
The NBA frequently uses a one- or two-man game, but Olympic competition is typically more team-based in nature, so being able to pass and span the court is always crucial. He made 39.6% of his 3-pointers last season, demonstrating his skill as an outside shooter. He also passes the ball well, dishing out 5.2 assists per game.
It helps that he played for veteran USA Basketball coach Gregg Popovich for the better part of five seasons.
Before the Olympics, Team USA will travel for exhibition purposes as is customary. On July 10, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the team will play Team Canada. In pre-Olympic competitions, the USA National Teams are 34-3 (source: USAB.com).
This year’s squad has won more awards than any of the others, even though no sane person would pick it over the storied Dream Team of 1992.
The 2024 squad will include five players who, when combined, have won 13 NBA Championships, according to USAB.com (add one player and one title if White is the substitute).
With a roster that includes future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James alongside dominant big men (Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis), scoring juggernauts (Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards), and Brown’s All-NBA First-Team teammate Jayson Tatum, Team USA is currently the heavy favorite to win the gold medal at BetMGM, where they are currently listed at -400.
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