“The USA just waltzing its way to a gold medal? Those days are over” – Rachel Nichols says Team USA has their work cut out for them in the Olympics

Team USA , with a star-studded roster including NBA icons like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, is once again the top contender for the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. However, as sports analyst Rachel Nichols points out, the road to victory will not be easy. Despite their talent, Team USA will face a tough battle to secure the gold.

Tough international foes

Team USA has gone 3-0 in their pre-Olympic games. On Wednesday, they overpowered Nikola Jokic and the Serbian national team, 105-79, in Dubai. However, despite that dominant showing, Nichols says they cannot expect the same outcome once the Olympic basketball tournament tips off.

“I mean, the U.S. just waltzing its way to a gold medal—those days are over. We used to win by 40 points, right? I think big, huge wins now are 15 points,” Rachel said on “Undisputed.”

Nichols, a veteran commentator, underlines the significant shift in international basketball. While the Dream Team dominated the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the global basketball landscape has evolved. The rest of the world has closed the gap, with teams now possessing the skill and firepower to challenge or even defeat the once-dominant Team USA.

“You have to remember that not only has the rest of the world caught up in general with international basketball, but the rise of the three-pointer means that there is a guy on every one of the top four or five teams who could get hot, start hitting a bunch of threes, and that can sometimes be the ball game. In a single-elimination tournament, which this will be from the quarterfinals on, that matters,” Rachel emphasized, pointing to the number of perimeter sharpshooters every elite team in the competition has.

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The USA should still roll to the gold

Despite the challenges, the experienced journalist remains confident in Team USA's ability to clinch the gold medal. While the team showed some weaknesses in exhibition matches, their recent performance against Serbia demonstrated their adaptability to head coach Steve Kerr's system.

“All that being said, the U.S. should win the gold. I've been saying that all spring and all summer—that this is the best team by far, head and shoulders,” Rachel asserted.

Nichols also pointed out that KD hasn’t even suited up yet as he recovers from a strained calf muscle.

“I'm not concerned in the slightest. I just don't think it's a cakewalk. They're going to have to play basketball. They should still win, but they're going to have to actually play the games,” the FS1 stalwart conveyed.

Team USA has assembled the deepest team since the 2008 Redeem Team, a squad that included LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, and was formed to redeem the country's basketball reputation after a disappointing finish in the 2004 Olympics. While the current team has had its way in its series of tuneup games, it remains to be seen if they can keep it up when the pressure is ratcheted up when the games start to matter.

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