Austin Rivers on why the Lakers shouldn't be far in championship race: "I'm watching them be the best on the best team in the world"

Like many Americans, former NBA player Austin Rivers has been following closely the exploits of the U.S. men's basketball team that will represent the Stars and Stripes in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.

After watching Team USA play five exhibition games before they travel to France, Rivers says he's noticed one thing. Well, two, actually. According to Doc Rivers' son, the two best players on the squad both play for the Los Angeles Lakers . Because of that, he says the purple and gold may not be too far off in the championship pace.

Title contenders?

According to Rivers, all he's heard during the offseason is how the Lakers are far from being title contenders because they failed to acquire any of the top free agents. However, if the two of the top 10 players are on the same team, then they may not be far too far from the top of the mountain.

Rivers adds that newly-appointed head coach JJ Redick may have been correct when he recently said that his team is a piece or two away from competing for a title. Austin says Redick may be that piece as a new voice from the sidelines that could help LeBron and AD return to the top.

"I am watching the Avengers, the team with the best players of the best players in the entire world," Rivers continued. "The best of our league is in this team, right? And the two best players so far are two guys that play on the same team in the NBA, two Lakers players. So I ask you, what do you think? How far are the Lakers away? Is it just a couple of role players? Or exchanges? Or are we talking about something minimal? Because they don't need much more. I'm watching them be the best players on this team, and they're on the same team in the NBA."

LeBron, AD have been dominant for Team USA

It's unclear how far the Lakers are from being a championship-caliber team again. What is clear right now is that LeBron and AD were the top performers for Team USA during their five exhibition games.

"King James" led the Americans in scoring and assists with totals of 79 and 18, respectively. Meanwhile, "The Brow" was Team USA's leader in rebounds and blocked shots. The only non-Laker leading the team in traditional stats is Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who had nine steals in five games.

Related: Bill Simmons names Team USA's "indispensable players" in the Paris Olympics: "I think that's our three"