Projected starting five for Team USA in the Paris Olympics 2024

Team USA wrapped up their Olympic preparations with a hard-fought 92-88 win over Germany on Monday. The US needed some late LeBron James magic, as they had in the previous victory over South Sudan, to beat Germany.

Head coach Steve Kerr boasts a roster packed with some of the finest players in the NBA but the team struggled to gel in their pre-tournament matches. With Team USA the strong favourites to clinch gold again this summer, how will Kerr decide to line up in the Olympic opener against Serbia?

Kerr has already said that LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Steph Curry are likely to start and that trio have been a consistent pick throughout the warmup games. Aside from them, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday were each given two starts, suggesting that they have Kerr’s trust.

Projected starting five for Team USA: LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday.

Will Kevin Durant play for Team USA against Serbia?

Even at this late stage, Kerr’s team selection for the Olympics still has one major unknown factor: the fitness of Kevin Durant.

The 35-year-old is an Olympic veteran and Team USA’s record point-scoring at the Games. He would be almost certain to start in Kerr’s first-choice five but a calf injury meant that Durant was forced to sit out all five pre-tournament games.

He has now returned to practice but with just a handful of days on the court it would represent a major risk for Kerr to field him from the start. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday the Team USA boss insisted that he would resist the temptation to bring him back early.

“It’s not just our training staff, but [USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill] is constantly in touch with Kevin’s people and with the Suns,” Kerr told reporters. “This is not going to be like us going out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s just throw him out there.’ This will be a big collaboration.”