Team USA Basketball kicked off the road to the 2024 Olympics in Paris when they faced Canada in their first exhibition match of the tournament on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Canada is arguably the United States’ biggest threat in the Olympics as they have several current NBA players. Leading the way for the Canadians is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, two of the best guards in the league though they’re also flanked by Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett and Dwight Powell.
Although Team USA got off to a slow start in the first quarter offensively, they eventually found their rhythm and went on to beat Canada 86-72 to pick up their first victory as a group.
Anthony Edwards made the rounds on social media after he declared himself the No. 1 option on the team and he backed those words up with his performance against Canada. Edwards came off the bench, but quickly established himself on the floor as a go-to scorer as he was able to penetrate Canada’s defense for several scores near the paint.
Edwards didn’t stop there as he also happily took what was given to him and made the right reads more often than not. The Minnesota Timberwolves star led all scorers with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 19 minutes. He also added three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Like Edwards, Anthony Davis also came off the bench but was arguably the best player on the floor because of his two-way impact. Canada had a much harder time scoring in the paint when Davis was in the game as he routinely contested shots, even after sometimes giving up the first step to the offensive player.
Offensively, Davis took advantage of some easy looks at the rim though he also did well to fight for extra chance points. Davis was the only player in the game to record a double-double as he scored 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds. More impressively, though, he came up with two steals and four blocks.
LeBron James acted as Team USA’s point guard and opted to move the ball round instead of hunting for his own shots. However, he and Stephen Curry connected for the play of the night as the latter threw up a lob to the former that brought the arena down.
Curry noted previously in the week that playing next to James was surreal, and the two generational superstars looked like they enjoyed their highlight-reel play.
What’s next for Team USA
Team USA’s next exhibition game will take place in Abu Dhabi where they’ll play Australia on July 15.
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