After the Americans' disastrous finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, USA Basketball has assembled the best team possible to represent Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Led by LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, the latest version of the U.S. Dream Team looks formidable and seemingly without a weakness. With a team loaded like they are, one of the biggest questions would be which five players will finish games.
The crew at the Bill Simmons podcast talked about this topic, and Simmons himself told his co-hosts that he thinks Jayson Tatum should be in the finishing five over Kevin Durant .
"To me, Tatum has to be over Durant because of his two-way ability at this point," said Simmons. "And the fact that he's younger, he has to be. And he beat Durant in a playoff series two years ago. I just think he's a better player at this point."
Tatum is only 26 and in his athletic prime
Tatum is coming off his first championship win with the Boston Celtics. Although it was Jaylen Brown who was named 2024 NBA Finals MVP, JT led the Celtics in points (22.2 PPG), rebounds (7.8 RPG), assists (7.2 APG), and minutes (40.2 MPG) during the championship series. He also averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game during the regular season.
Meanwhile, KD had an equally impressive season in Phoenix, averaging 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game with shooting splits of 52-41-85. Durant also scored 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game in the playoffs, but the Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2024 Playoffs.
The Slim Reaper is also already 35 years old, and although he can still light up the scoreboards, he is no longer the unstoppable scorer he was during his early years. Meanwhile, Tatum is only 26 years old and is definitely in his athletic prime. As Simmons said, he is also known as an excellent defensive player.
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Simmons makes an argument for JT
Simmons went on to continue his discussion about Team USA's closing five. He said that if the Americans face an opponent who can't match Joel Embiid's inside presence, he will go with JoJo at the five. However, if Team USA wants a championship five, Anthony Davis should be the big man closer.
"Or do you play Tatum at five?" asked Simmons. "So would you go Tatum, Durant, LeBron, Edwards, Curry or Tatum, Durant, Booker, Edwards, Curry, or Tatum, Durant Jrue, Edwards, Curry?... Tatum's like the perfect small-ball stretch international five."
It remains to be seen who Steve Kerr's actual closing five would be. But looking at the roster, Kerr's got plenty of options. It could vary, too, depending on the opponent and how the game develops. But if it gets to a point where he picks between JT and KD, he can't go wrong either way.
Related: Anthony Edwards on playing alongside LeBron, Steph, KD, and Tatum for Team USA: "I'm still the number one option"
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