The United States went undefeated at 6–0, winning by an average of 19 points per game.
LeBron James was named the
Olympics MVP after averaging 14.2 points along with team highs of 6.8
rebounds and 8.5
assists per game, and he was named to the
Olympics All-Star Five along with
Stephen Curry. Over the final two games, he scored 60 points and made 17 of 26 on 3s. Overall, Curry led the team in
plus–minus at plus-86, while James was second at plus-84. U.S. head coach
Steve Kerr lauded
Devin Booker as the team's "unsung MVP". Normally a high scorer in the NBA, he changed to a
3-and-D role on the Olympic team, serving as an on-ball, perimeter defender and a ball mover on offense. He made a team-high 56.5% (13 of 23) of his 3-pointers.
Preliminary round The Olympics featured 12 nations divided into three groups of four. Each team played three games, one game each against the other teams in their group. The first- and second-place teams advanced to the
knockout stage, along with the top two third-place teams. The United States was placed in Group C alongside
Serbia,
South Sudan, and
Puerto Rico with games in
Lille. The Americans finished 3–0, joining
Germany and
Canada as the only undefeated teams in group play.
All times are local (UTC+2). Serbia Durant scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting as the United States won their opener 110–84 over Serbia. After being out for a month with a calf injury, he was cleared to play less than an hour prior to the game. He made his first eight shots, including five 3-pointers. The Serbians went up 10–2 to start the game and were leading 19–14 when Durant entered the contest and made his first two
jump shots, both 3-pointers. He scored 21 points in the first half, helping Team USA to a 58–49 halftime lead. while the United States was a plus-34 when he was off the floor. With Durant's return, Kerr chose not to play Tatum.
South Sudan Bam Adebayo came off the bench and scored a team-high 18 points in a 103–86 win over South Sudan that clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. After nearly beating the United States in their exhibition game, the South Sudanese led 7–6 and 10–8 before the Americans outscored them 25–4 for a 33–14 lead and 55–36 edge at halftime. After South Sudan pulled to within 10 in the third quarter, Team USA entered the final period up 73–57. The U.S. reserves outscored South Sudan's 66–14. After sitting out the previous game against Serbia, Tatum entered the starting lineup, replacing his Boston teammate
Jrue Holiday. while
Carlik Jones added 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting. The Puerto Ricans were up by eight late in the first quarter. They were leading 37–36 with 5:45 remaining in the first half, when the Americans outscored them 28–8, during which James had all six of his first-half assists, to end the half ahead 64–45. After surrendering 29 points in the first quarter, the United States held Puerto Rico to 30 points combined in the second and third quarters. James ended with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds;
Jose Alvarado, Puerto Rico's only active NBA player, had a team-high 18 points. Despite being at a size disadvantage, they outrebounded Team USA 51–48 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. However, the Americans forced 16 turnovers and had 22
fast break points compared to 12 for the Puerto Ricans. The United States improved their record to 4–0 in gold medal games versus France. The United States jumped out to a 10-point lead after four minutes and were ahead by 12 after one quarter. After a quick run by Brazil brought them to within eight in the middle of the second quarter, Team USA went on a 21–2 run for a 63–36 halftime lead. In 12 first-half minutes, Embiid had 14 points and seven rebounds, shooting 5 of 6 and making two 3-pointers. For the game, the United States shot 57.7% and made 15 three-pointers, as every player scored. Embiid sat out the second half as a precaution after rolling his ankle. James had 12 points and nine assists before exiting the game in the third quarter after being elbowed above his left eye by Brazil's
Georginho while going for a rebound; James needed four stitches. For the second time in U.S. Olympic history, Team USA scored 100 or more points in each of their first four games, joining the
1992 team. Brazil's
Bruno Caboclo scored a game-high 30 points. Serbia was ahead by 17 in the second quarter and led by 11 at halftime after making ten 3-pointers in the first half. outscoring the Serbs 32–15 in the fourth quarter. Curry exceeded his combined scoring total over the first four U.S. games, in which he had 29 points on 10-of-28 shooting. They got to within three points with 3:02 remaining, but Curry made four 3-pointers in the final 2:47 to secure the victory. James finished with 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. In his first Olympics, the
NBA Rookie of the Year Wembanyama scored the second-most points ever against the United States in a gold-medal game, one less than
Dražen Dalipagić's 27 for Yugoslavia against the
1976 team. ==See also==