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A North American confrontation between the United States and Canada kicks off the USA Basketball Showcase – five exhibition games to be played over two weeks in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – tonight in Las Vegas (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
Team USA and Team Canada met for the last time exactly 10 months ago, in the bronze medal match of the FIBA World Cup 2023. Canada won in an overtime thriller.
- SGA and Brooks: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks combined for 70 points to lead Team Canada to victory
- Bridges’ Miracle Shot: Mikal Bridges forced overtime by intentionally missing a free throw, grabbing his own rebound, dribbling to the corner and knock down a fadeaway 3.
- History of Canada: The Canadians won their first World Cup medal and their first medal in a major international basketball competition since the 1936 Olympics.
As Team USA prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympics, who looks set to emerge as the starting group for the Red, White and Blue?
The alignments: The Canadian team will feature most of the World Cup players who have competed in the Olympics, with notable additions including Jamal Murray, Trey Lyles and Andrew Nembhard. Canada has the most current NBA players (10) of any country other than the United States at the Olympics.
Conversely, Team USA returns just two players from its World Cup squad – Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton – while adding 10 NBA All-Stars, led by four former league MVPs: LeBron James (4x), Steph Curry (2x), Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid.
- All-NBA First Team: Both teams feature a member of the 2023-24 All-NBA First Team – SGA for Canada and Jayson Tatum for the United States – but Team USA holds a 9-1 advantage among the three All-NBA teams.
- All-NBA Second and Third Teams: Team USA added four players from the All-NBA Second Team (Anthony Davis, Durant, Edwards, Kawhi Leonard) and Third Team (Devin Booker, Curry, Haliburton, LeBron)
- During absence: KD — Team USA’s all-time leading scorer at the Olympics — was sidelined with a calf strain that limited him during training camp in Las Vegas
Preliminary test: With NBA talent and a higher level of team continuity, Canada represents a tough test for Team USA as the Americans take the court for the first time as a unit this summer.
