LAS VEGAS – The United States men’s basketball team played their first game together Wednesday in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, defeating Canada 86-72 in an exhibition game.
Anthony Edwards had 13 points, Steph Curry 12 and Anthony Davis had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the US. LeBron James added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 19 minutes, and Jrue Holiday had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The U.S. is favored to win its fifth straight Olympic gold, and Canada’s NBA roster — featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murry and RJ Barrett — is a medal contender and is seeking its first Olympic podium finish since silver in 1936.
The U.S. will play Australia (July 15) and Serbia (July 17) in Abu Dhabi, and South Sudan (July 20) and Germany (July 22) in London as they prepare for the Olympics. The U.S. opens the Games on July 28 against Serbia.
It was a good start to the training schedule for the U.S., as the country’s squad has only trained together four times and Canada has medal potential.
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the US Olympic team and where they’re from
American coach Steve Kerr called in James, Curry, Holiday, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid, putting the Americans behind 11-1.
But the luxury Kerr has that no other team has is that his next five was Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Davis and Tyrese Haliburton, who helped spark a 14-3 run for a 28-23 U.S. lead.
The U.S. led 41-33 at halftime and opened a 50-37 lead on nine straight points, including two 3-pointers, by Curry. Edwards’ buzzer-beating 3 late in the third quarter put the U.S. ahead 69-54.
The Americans’ much-needed size and defense were on full display. They outshot Canada 53-48, blocked nine shots and held Canada to 33.8% shooting. The U.S. shot 50.7% from the field despite making just 7 of 23 3-pointers.
“It’s a good first game for us,” Kerr said. “We’ve just gotten started — four days of practice. You could see the rust on the offensive end (and) a lot of turnovers in that first half, especially. But I like the defensive intensity and the work on the glass.
“So it was a good first attempt and we had to set a tone for how we wanted to play. I think we succeeded in that.”
The U.S. was down to 10 players. Kevin Durant missed the game with a sore calf and the U.S. replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White, who will join the team in Abu Dhabi.
Barrett led Canada with 12 points, with Dillon Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexander each scoring 10 points.