The U.S. men's basketball team rolled to the knockout stage of the 2024 Olympics basketball tournament with another blowout win over Puerto Rico. But while Team USA has gotten the job done so far, Shaquille O'Neal wants them to continue their dominance.
In fact, during the latest episode of "The Big Podcast," O'Neal said that anything but a blowout win is a disappointment for the star-studded U.S. squad.
"If you don't win by 20, I'm not impressed," Shaq said . "You're talking about a super team. I don't even know what team this is. Do you want me to go over the list? Bro, that's all I need. You got the best players in the world on one team."
Close calls
Shaq ripped Team USA for their close calls during five-game exhibition games before the Olympics. The U.S. squad could not put Australia away, winning only by six points. They also defeated World Champions Germany by only four and barely survived South Sudan in what almost became one of the biggest upsets in U.S. basketball history.
"The Diesel" added that the argument that there are 10 times more NBA players in the current Olympic tournament than in 1992 is just an excuse because no matter how you look at it, Team USA is loaded from top to bottom, with more talent on its roster than any other team in the Paris Games.
"You got Joker, then Bogdanovic is down here; every guy on our starting five is up here. If they win, they're supposed to win. But if they don't win by 20, people are going to talk about them. But I'm scared that the first quarters and second quarters be close. What if KD don't come out and don't go five for five?" Shaq said.
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Balanced effort for Team USA
O'Neal referenced KD's 8-for-8 first half against Serbia, which allowed the Americans to pull away from Nikola Jokic and Co. during their Olympic debut. But when Durant did not come out firing against South Sudan, Bam Adebayo rose to the occasion and scored 18 points to lead the team to a 16-point victory.
Then, in their group stage finale, with KD, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry combining for only 29 points, Anthony Edwards shone the brightest with a 26-point performance. Ant-Man shot 11-15 from the field, including 3-6 from three-point distance, to lead Team USA to a 104-83 win over Puerto Rico.
The Americans have won two out of their three Olympic games by at least 20 points and won three contests with an average winning margin of 21.33. Team USA faces Brazil in the quarterfinals and either Serbia or Australia in the semis. Then, in a potential finals matchup, they will meet Canada, Germany, Greece, or France.
It remains to be seen if Shaq will be impressed with this U.S. team, but if you ask them, all they care about is bringing home the gold.
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