The brightest NBA stars, living legend LeBron James, three-point shooting king Stephen Curry, along with 12 other teammates of the Dream Team, landed their plane in Abu Dhabi to set up a training camp here, preparing for practice and friendly matches ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The Dream Team’s plane touched down in the UAE last Friday. After two very intense training sessions, today, July 15, the US basketball team will play a friendly match against Team Australia. On July 17, they will face Team Serbia at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
The purpose of the training camp in Abu Dhabi is to address any remaining minor issues and to give time for the superstars to bond after an extremely intense NBA season.
“The living legend” LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), “three-point shooting king” Curry (4-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors), and even coach Steve Kerr were seen at their most relaxed and comfortable while present in Abu Dhabi.
The latest version of the Dream Team is in good form and spirits after defeating Team Canada in a warm-up match last Wednesday with a “comfortable” score of 86-72, where Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) scored 13 points.
This is the first time James and Curry are teaming up for the US national basketball team on the international stage. Naturally, this duo needs a bit more time… Nonetheless, even though they’ve only played one game together so far, they are trusted to lead the latest Dream Team to clinch their 5th consecutive prestigious basketball gold medal at the Olympics.
“We know we can play much better, but we’ve only been together for 4 days!” James shared after the Wednesday victory, in front of a crowd at the T-Mobile Arena that even included Former President Barack Obama.
“All the mistakes in the offensive end, and the turnovers. We will play better from there – but we start from defense. And until we focus on defense, we will have a chance to win every night,” James added.
Despite being an offensive superstar, Curry also agrees that defense is the key to Team USA’s Olympic campaign: “We can solve the offensive knots and timings, but if we commit to defense, we’ll be fine against anyone.”
“There’s always an interesting format when you gather these group of guys together. It’s a challenge – to try to figure out the chemistry, simply flowing with the rhythm of the game,” Curry noted.
As usual, the sole objective – and the most achievable outcome – for the Dream Team at the Paris Olympics is straightforward: to clinch the gold medal. However, at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, they couldn’t easily achieve that.
In Tokyo, Team USA had moments where they were down 10 points against Spain in the quarterfinals, 15 points against Australia in the semifinals, and in the gold medal match against France, they won by just 5 points.
This serves as a clear reminder that the global basketball standard has drawn much closer together, and a roster filled with NBA stars is no longer a guarantee of outright success for the Americans. But that’s something Americans don’t want to hear.“I’ve heard a lot of people say that others are catching up with us, but that will only make us more eager, more motivated. We respect those guys, but basketball is still here,” guard Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) said.
Another renowned face in the Dream Team lineup for the Paris Olympics is Kevin Durant (also from the Phoenix Suns). Coming to the 2024 Olympics, Durant is hopeful to secure his 4th gold medal and become the first basketball player to achieve this feat.
“Surely, this will be historic with this team. So, honestly speaking, I would be very happy to be a part of it,” guard Edwards shared. “But I haven’t really thought too much about that. Just happy to contribute to it.”
