News & Updates

The United States didn’t send its best possible men’s basketball team to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Not even close.

The squad played some sloppy basketball, with too much one-on-one play and inconsistent outside shooting.

None of it mattered, though, as the Americans cruised to another gold medal — their third in a row and sixth in the last seven Olympics — with a 96-66 win over Serbia on Sunday.

The U.S. completely dominated the Olympics with the Dream Team and Dream Team II in 1992 and 1996, respectively. The world began to catch up, though, and that was evident in 2000. By the time the 2004 Athens Games came around, the U.S. no longer was king of the hill.

Argentina defeated Team USA in the semifinals, snapping the Americans’ streak of three consecutive golds. Led by the “Redeem Team” in 2008 in Beijing and the encore in 2012 in London, the U.S. regained the throne with gold medals, but the results weren’t guaranteed despite the lopsided average margin of victory.

The world was shrinking the talent gap with the United States, but after watching the competition in Rio, it appears that gap is widening again.

Make no mistake: From a talent perspective, this might be the worst U.S. Olympic roster in a while. Only the 2004 bronze medal-winning roster comes close.

The two best players in the world, LeBron James and Steph Curry, didn’t even participate. Russell Westbrook, who’s the third- or fourth-best NBA player, also didn’t play. Neither did Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard nor Kawhi Leonard.

Despite not fielding its best possible roster, the U.S. marched to an 8-0 record in Rio with a plus-182 scoring differential and four victories by 20-plus points. Sunday’s gold medal game was a joke. The Americans’ 30-point win was the fifth-largest margin of victory in men’s basketball gold medal game history.

The outlook for the rest of the world heading toward the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t great.

Argentina’s golden generation, which won gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008, is over. Manu Ginobili has played in his last Olympics, and other veterans such as Luis Scola no longer are capable of being a factor on an Olympic champion.

Spain, which has enjoyed a lot of success over the last decade, also is aging. Pau Gasol and brother Marc, easily the best Spanish players of the last 10 years, will be 40 and 35, respectively, in 2020. France has some decent NBA players such as Nic Batum and Rudy Gobert, but isn’t a legitimate gold-medal threat.

Simply put, the U.S. has no chief rival. There are no teams capable of coming close to matching Argentina’s 2004 upset if the United States brings its best squad (or very close to it) to Tokyo. None of the top teams have multiple superstars who could knock the U.S. off its perch. Andrew Wiggins (Canada) might be the only top-20 or top-25 player who’s not American-born.

Would any country beat this potential 2020 starting lineup?
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Russell Westbrook/Kawhi Leonard
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis/Karl-Anthony Towns

Don’t bet on it.

The Americans’ competition peaked in the 2000s, and unless the talent pool drastically changes, there’s no reason to believe the U.S. will fail to dominate even more than it did in Rio when the 2020 Olympics roll around.

Thumbnail photo via RVR Photos/USA TODAY Sports Images

Men’s basketball at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro began Saturday with three matchups, including the United States starting its gold medal defense against China.

Team USA has won the last two gold medals at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, and it enters Rio as the overwhelming favorite to claim another title, according to oddsmakers.

Here’s the complete schedule for men’s basketball at the Summer Games. All times are Eastern.

Saturday, Aug. 6
USA 119, China 62
Australia 87, France 66
Serbia 86, Venezuela 62

Sunday, Aug. 7 
Lithuania 82, Brazil 76
Croatia 72, Spain 70
Argentina 94, Nigeria 66

Monday, Aug. 8
USA 113, Venezuela 69
Australia 95, Serbia 80
France 88, China 60

Tuesday, Aug. 9
Brazil 66, Spain 65
Lithuania 89, Nigeria 80
Argentina 90, Croatia 82

Wednesday, Aug. 10
USA 98, Australia 88
France 76, Serbia 75
Venezuela 72, China 68

Thursday, Aug. 11
Croatia 80, Brazil 76
Nigeria 87, Spain 96
Lithuania 81, Argentina 73

Friday, Aug. 12
USA 94, Serbia 91
Australia 93, China 68
France 96, Venezuela 56

Saturday, Aug. 13
Argentina 111, Brazil 107
Spain 109, Lithuania 59
Nigeria 90, Croatia 76

Sunday, Aug. 14
USA 100, France 97
Australia 81, Venezuela 56
Serbia 94, China 60

Monday, Aug. 15
Brazil 86, Nigeria 69
Spain 92, Argentina 73
Croatia 90, Lithuania 81

Wednesday, Aug. 17
Quarterfinals
Australia 90, Lithuania 64
Spain 92, France 67
USA 102, Argentina 78
Serbia 86, Croatia 83

Friday, Aug. 19
Semifinals
USA 82, Spain 76
Serbia 87, Australia 61

Sunday, Aug. 21
Bronze Medal Game
Spain 89, Australia 88
Gold Medal Game
USA 96, Serbia 66

Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images

Remember that time we thought Ryan Lochte actually was robbed at gunpoint?

It was just one week ago, but it feels like ages since the Olympic swimmer exaggerated the details of an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station with three other U.S. teammates.

Bizarre details still are coming out from that Sunday morning in Rio, and the latest odd tale comes from FOX Sports Australia’s Ben Way, who was the first to break the news via the following tweet:

The crazy part here involves how Way stumbled upon the story: Through what Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch describes as a “total fluke.”

In an interview with Deitsch, Way says he and his crew had just finished an interview at a Rio hotel and were unable to hail a taxi, so they took an Olympic shuttle instead. By sheer coincidence, they bumped into Ryan Lochte’s mother, who looked visibly shaken and upset. Naturally, Way asked what was wrong.

“She went on to say how (Ryan had) gone to a party with Thiago (later confirmed as Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira),” Way told Deitsch. “He’d been held up at gunpoint and they stole his wallet. He was with three teammates at the time. I said, ‘So he’s definitely OK?’ to which she replied, ‘Yes, he called me straight afterwards. It’s terrifying as you’d imagine, but he’s back at the base and I’m going there to meet him now. I’m just waiting on a message.’ ”

Way shared the news on Twitter shortly after the chance meeting, and FOX Sports Australia ran the story Sunday morning.

Of course, we later learned that Lochte and Co. hadn’t been so much “robbed at gunpoint” as they had been forced to pay for a sign that Lochte had vandalized. But judging by Way’s account, it appears Lochte couldn’t even tell the truth to his own mother.

We maybe can see embellishing a story in a national television interview, but doing so in a conversation with your mom is a new low.

Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images

There have been some bizarre moments at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, but Sunday’s bronze medal match in 65kg freestyle wrestling might have produced the strangest.

After Mongolian wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran lost out on bronze because of a penalty assessed for him celebrating victory early, his coaches decided to make a scene by stripping in front of everyone.

The coaches eventually were escorted out of the area by police.

You hate to see matches with medals on the line decided in such controversial fashion, especially for celebration penalties. These athletes train for these matches for four years — there’s going to be tons of emotion.

Still, this was not the best way to display frustration.

Thumbnail photo via Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports Images

Final, 96-66 USA: The United States has won its third consecutive gold medal in Olympic men’s basketball, and six of the last seven overall. Kevin Durant led the U.S. with 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

Fourth quarter, 2:01, 92-57 USA: It’s been that kind of game for Serbia.

Fourth quarter, 5:52, 88-47 USA: The U.S. has built its lead to a game-high 41 points. The largest margin of victory in a men’s basketball gold medal game at the Olympics is 48.

Fourth quarter, 7:01, 84-47 USA: Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green have made their first appearance off the bench as Team USA begins to sit its starters.

Fourth quarter, 8:44, 79-43 USA: Kevin Durant has come out of the game for the first time. He’s the game’s high scorer with 30 points.

End of third quarter, 79-43 USA: The U.S. is on its way toward a third consecutive gold medal.

Third quarter, 4:09, 66-37 USA: The U.S. has outscored Serbia 53-21 since Serbia led 14-11 in the first quarter.

Third quarter, 4:47, 64-35 USA: Now it’s Klay Thompson heating up with another 3-pointer. He’s up to 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Thompson threw an alley-oop to DeAndre Jordan on the previous possession.

Third quarter, 7:00, 55-33 USA: Here’s an interesting stat, although Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes probably wouldn’t agree.

Third quarter, 9:35, 55-29 USA: Carmelo Anthony begins the second half with his first basket of the game.

End of first half, 52-29 USA

Second quarter, 0:45, 52-29 USA: Guess what? Kevin Durant hits another 3-pointer. He’s up to 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

Second quarter, 2:00, 45-27 USA: Kevin Durant attacks the basket and throws down a thunderous dunk. He’s now up to 19 points and still hasn’t yet come out of the game.

Serbia’s also struggling from beyond the arc.

Second quarter, 4:45, 40-22 USA: Kevin Durant hits another 3-pointer, this time from way downtown, and he now has a team-leading 17 points. He’s 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Second quarter, 5:51, 33-22 USA: Serbia entered this game leading the tournament in fouls, and it has committed 12 today. Serbian forward Nikola Kalinic already has four fouls.

Second quarter, 6:54, 33-20 USA: Two 3-point field goals and a transition dunk by Kevin Durant has given the U.S. its largest lead of the game. KD is feeling it right now.

Second quarter, 8:12, 25-15 USA: The U.S. is on a 12-4 run since Paul George and Kyle Lowry came off the bench.

Second quarter, 8:36, 23-15 USA: Good sign for Team USA.

Also of note, the U.S. has three steals and two blocks. Its defense has been very active, particularly in the paint against dribble penetration.