Team USA's Paris Olympics basketball draw: Looking at LeBron James and Co's pathway to 5th straight gold medal

LeBron James expressed his desire to play for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics at 39 years old and it also attracted other top NBA stars to join him. In this quest to remind the world that the USA is still the best in basketball after the fourth-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the bracketing is finalized through a draw in Mies, Switzerland.

In the draw, Team USA is bracketed with Serbia, South Sudan and the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Puerto Rico.

With the Olympics seen in the basketball world as the premier international tournament to see who is the best of the best, let's dive into the path Team USA takes in their quest to secure a fifth straight gold medal in the sport.

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Team USA's opponents in Group C in the 2024 Paris Olympics

Serbia

Having rested last summer after winning an NBA championship, Nikola Jokic did not join the Serbian team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He is expected to suit up in the upcoming Olympics and Serbia is looking forward to bringing their best players.

Among other NBA players who may join him are Nikola Jovic, Vasilije Micic and Aleksej Pokusevski. Upcoming lottery pick Nikola Topic should also get the call to suit up.

Team USA will clash with Serbia on Jul. 28 in the 2024 Paris Olympics. This matchup should set the barometer for how both teams should finish.

South Sudan

Team USA will be taking on South Sudan three days after their matchup with Serbia. This should be an easy win for the American squad but do expect some fight from Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok, Nuni Omot and former Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel.

Puerto Rico FIBA OQT winner

This is quite a wild card as six teams are fighting for this Olympic berth. Aside from the host team Puerto Rico, Lithuania, Italy, Bahrain, Mexico and Cote d'Ivoire round up the bracket.

Lithuania should be the favorite here as they own the highest ranking in the FIBA of these six teams (10th). Fans could witness Domantas Sabonis teaming up with Jonas Valanciunas and forming a bruising frontcourt with Ignas Brazdeikis, Deividas Sirvydis, and Arnoldas Kulboka.

On the other hand, Italy is not far behind in the FIBA rankings at 13th overall. Simone Fontecchio should give it a run with the team again after an impressive FIBA World Cup run, and he should be joined by Nico Mannion and Nicolo Melli.