Some people believe that this year's Team USA might be the most stacked squad in the organization's recent history. Consisting mostly of stars who are still in the thick or tail-end of their primes, the team is looking to continue the Americans' streak of Olympic Gold medal wins, which began in 2008.
A lingering concern about the "Avengers," though, is that its collection of talent probably has the coaching staff working double time to determine who should get the most playing time and who should be on the floor in crucial possessions. If you ask Bill Simmons, the Red, White, and Blue's most indispensable players this year are LeBron James , Stephen Curry, and Anthony Davis.
"Who are the indispensables?" Simmons said on his podcast. "LeBron, Curry, and Anthony Davis. I think that's our three."
James' heroics
Interestingly, the superstars Simmons mentioned play for Californian squads, namely the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. They are members of the NBA 75 and have a combined nine rings among them.
Team USA's recent exhibition games have shown why "The Sports Guy" might have a point. Its past two victories have been close calls, and James was perhaps the reason the squad eked out the wins.
Against South Sudan, the Lakers icon got the game-winning layup to give his team the 101-100 victory. Then, he displayed his clutch genes again versus Germany, scoring the squad's last 11 points to help them defeat the reigning FIBA World Cup champions 92-88.
Following James' lead
Despite nearing 40 years old, the American Olympic flagbearer has turned out to be the team's top dog once again. He is also one of three fixtures in Team USA coach Steve Kerr's rotating starting lineup during their tune-up contests. The other two have been Curry and Joel Embiid.
But Davis ' performance has had folks calling for Kerr to change it up. The Lakers big man's two-way play has been sublime, proving why, when healthy, he could be a perennial NBA MVP candidate.
As for Curry, he has been uneven in Team USA's preparation for the Paris Games. However, it's worth noting that the only time they won handily (a 105-79 rout of Nikola Jokic and Serbia), it was the two-time NBA MVP who led the way, recording 24 points and awing his teammates and the audience with plenty of his signature highlight-reel plays.
Simmons also mentioned Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday to round out the five most indispensable players of the U.S. squad, and that could result in more serious debate.
While the Boston Celtics champions have the offensive and defensive skill sets to complement the trio of Curry, James, and Davis, the same can be said about Anthony Edwards, who emerged as Team USA's go-to guy last year's World Cup, and the injured Kevin Durant, the Americans' all-time leader for career points in the Olympics.
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