Germany vs. Japan: Starting 5s and Depth Charts for July 27 | 2024 Paris Olympics

Germany and Japan will look to kick off their 2024 Paris Olympics Games campaign when they meet in the opening game of Group B on Saturday at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lile.

The two nations are growing more familiar with each other since the millennium, having played each other over four times, with Germany leading 3-1 in its head-to-head. However, this Saturday meeting could be a definer for both.

Gordon Herbert’s men enter Paris 2024 with the hopes of replicating their historic success at the FIBA World Cup 2023, when they knocked out the USA to win the competition for the first time and qualified directly for Paris 2024 as Europe’s top-ranked team.

Since then, Germany has climbed to third in the FIBA World Rankings, trailing only two-time world champions Spain and 16-time Olympic gold medallists USA.

They are considered by many as one of the competition’s favorites to end on the podium, considering the number of talented players they have. The quartet of Dennis Schroder, Daniel Theis, Nick Weiler-Babb and Johannes Thiemann may be in their 30s but still command important roles in the set-up.

Japan, meanwhile, will be competing in their first back-to-back Olympic Games since Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976. The team will look to build on an impressive FIBA 2023 World Cup campaign, having qualified for Paris wirh a 3-2 record, including an 80-71 victory over Cape Verde in their final game.

That allowed Akatsuki Japan to finish in 19th place and secure direct qualification for the Paris Olympics as the top team from Asia.

Unlike their opponents, Japan may not have the luxury of individual talents and will rely on their togetherness to try and get them through past the group that includes France and Brazil.

With players like Yuki Togashi and Rui Hachimura, Japan has a chance to go beyond the group stage for the first time. In fact, Japan has secured only 13 victories throughout their Olympic history, having participated in seven tournaments.

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Germany vs Japan: Starting lineups and depth charts

Germany starting lineup and depth chart for July 27

Gordon Herbert is not expected to have any fresh injury concerns to deal with.

Key players Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner and Daniel Theis are likely to start, as well as the Brooklyn Nets' star Dennis Schroder, who averaged 17.9 points and 6.7 assists per game in the last year’s FIBA World Cup tournament that earned him MVP honors.

Position	Starters	Bench	Bench
PG	Dennis Shroder	Isaac Bonga
SG	Andreas Obst	Justin Hollatz	Nick Weiler-Babb
SF	Franz Wagner	Maodo Lo	Oscar Da Silva
PF	Johannes Voigtmann	Niels Giffey
C	Daniel Theis	Mo Wagner

Japan starting lineup and depth chart for July 27

Having confirmed their final squad at a similar time like the Germans, Japan is also expected to have a fully fit roster at their disposal.

LA Lakers danger man Rui Hachimura Graziano, who was impressive at the 2020 Olympics with an average of 22.3 points per game and shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range, could lead the attack with Yuta Wantanabe.

Josh Hawkinson may well be used as a center in the opener along with forward Makoto Heijima to try and counter the threat of Germany up front.

Position	Starters	Bench	Bench
PG	Yuki Kawamura	Keisei Tominaga
SG	Yudai Baba	Yuki Togashi	Kai Toews
SF	Makoto Heijima	Jacobs Tajon Akira
PF	Yuta Watanabe	Soichiro Inoue	Hirotaka Yoshii
C	Josh Hawkinson	Koya Kawamata