The U.S. men are favored for basketball gold at the Paris Games but many challengers await them

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

There is one goal, and it’s always the same goal for USA Basketball. The only acceptable result from these Paris Olympics is another gold medal.

And the most recent gold was one of the toughest to get.

At the Tokyo Games three years ago, the U.S. trailed Spain by 10 in the quarterfinals, trailed Australia by 15 in the semifinals and beat France by only five in the gold-medal game. It was yet another reminder that in the international game, winning isn’t automatic for the Americans anymore. And frankly, that’s a notion they’re tired of hearing about.

“I hear a lot of people saying everybody’s catching up to us too, so that keeps us hungry, that keeps us motivated,” U.S. guard Devin Booker said. “We have a lot of respect for those guys, but basketball still lies here.”

Call that the mission within the mission for the U.S. in Paris: Winning is the goal, but there’s also a clear sense that it’d be nice to remind the rest of the world that — while there are great players hailing from all over the planet — no nation can put together a roster like the one the Americans have for these games. A 12-man roster, all of them All-Stars before Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal, led by veterans like three-time medalists LeBron James and Kevin Durant and an Olympic newcomer in Stephen Curry.

“It’s going to be historic for sure with this team, so I’m just happy to be a part of it, honestly,” said U.S. guard Anthony Edwards, one of the Olympic rookies on the roster. “I ain’t even thought about it too much. Just happy to be a part of it.”

There is history on the line: Durant could become the first men’s player with four Olympic basketball golds, James is seeking a fourth Olympic medal and the Americans are trying to win five Olympic titles in a row for the first time since winning the first seven competitions held from 1936 through 1968.

And the rest of the world is waiting.

Germany is the reigning World Cup champion, winning gold last summer in Manila. Serbia – the first U.S. opponent in France — and Canada also won medals at the World Cup, Canada captured its bronze by beating the Americans. And then there’s France, the home team, a squad that lost the gold-medal game to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games 87-82 after beating the Americans earlier in that tournament and now has both home-soil advantage and Victor Wembanyama leading the way.

“I can’t wait to face them,” Wembanyama said of the Americans.

If that matchup happens, it’ll be in the elimination rounds. France is in Group B, along with Germany, Japan and Brazil. The Group A pairing is Australia, Greece, Canada and Spain — which, top to bottom, would seem to be the toughest. And in Group C, it’s the U.S., Serbia, Puerto Rico and Olympic newcomer South Sudan.

Teams play a round robin against the others in their group. Following those three games, the first- and second-place finishers from each group make the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.

“It just gets you back to just enjoying the, I guess you could say the purity of the game and what it takes to put a 12-man roster together,” Curry said. “And if everybody brings that right energy then we’ll get the most out of this experience.”

Antetokounmpo, Group A

Spain is a perennial power and has a now six-time Olympian in Rudy Fernandez, the first men’s basketball player to qualify that many times. Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, Canada has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, and Australia is still feeling some momentum from three summers ago at the Tokyo Games.

Australia’s 0-for-forever run of medals in major international tournaments finally ended in Tokyo with the bronze, and Patty Mills insists the team can go for more this summer.

“From an all-around talent standpoint, you look at our team and the majority of us are in the NBA … and we’ve got a lot of young guys with a lot of experience, which we haven’t ever really had had before,” Mills said.

Wembanyama, Group B

Germany won the World Cup last summer and basically brings back much of that team, but will have to deal with France in group play. The winner of their game probably should win the group.

Brazil and Japan will likely need to spring one upset to be assured of getting out of group, or could rely on the third-place spots to advance behind the clear favorites in Group B.

“Last summer’s experience was super special,” Germany’s Franz Wagner said. “Only when we got done did we realize what we had done as a group, not just the accomplishment of winning gold but realizing the chemistry we had as a team.”

Jokic, Group C

Nikola Jokic didn’t even play for Serbia when his nation won silver at the World Cup last summer; adding him to the mix obviously makes that team look even tougher on paper. Puerto Rico won a qualifier earlier this month to get in led by Jose Alvarado, and South Sudan qualified based on its World Cup result a year ago.

The Serbia-U.S. game to open group play will set the tone.

“It will definitely be a spectacle,” Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic said.

Serbia’s plan will be to use its years of familiarity with one another as the key to beating a team loaded with talent but one that practiced together for the first time earlier this month.

“We are aware that they will be a huge challenge and have a lot of continuity, a lot of players who have played together over the years,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “And that’s one of the reasons they’ll be as good as they’ll be.”