Team USA Basketball Olympics 2016 Schedule and Biggest Foes: Spain and Lithuania Among Strongest Teams for Rio Games
Team USA Basketball's schedule for the 2016 Rio Olympics has been released. You can access the Rio 2016 Olympic Basketball Calendar here. As scheduled, the team's first 5 games will be played at the Barra Carioca Arena 1.
Team USA Basketball's Schedule
Team USA belongs to Bracket A with the following teams: Australia, France, Venezuela, Serbia, and China. The following is a schedule of team USA's matchups leading up to the gold medal game.
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Team USA vs China, August 6, Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
Team USA vs Venezuela, August 8, Monday, 6 p.m. EDT
Team USA vs Australia, August 10, Wednesday, 6 p.m. EDT
Team USA vs Serbia, August 12, Friday, 6 p.m. EDT
Team USA vs France, August 14, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. EDT
After the group stage games, the quarterfinals will take place on August 17, Wednesday. Then, the Semifinals will be held on August 19, Friday. Finally, two games will be played on August 21, Sunday -- the Bronze medal game and the Gold medal game.
USA Basketball's Biggest Foes
Team USA is still the favorite to win the gold medal in this Summer Olympics. The team has won gold in 14 out of 18 men's basketball Olympic events. In addition, USA has an incredible record of 130 wins and only 5 losses since the 1936 summer Olympics.
USA remains the heavy favorite despite the fact that head coach Mike Krzyzewski had to dig deep into the talent pool of NBA to fill up his roster; some NBA stars like Curry and James had to opt out for health reasons.
So who are Team USA's biggest foes? According to FIBA, here's the world ranking of the 4 best basketball countries in the world after USA:
1. Spain
Spain's roster includes NBA stars Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, and Juan Carlos Navarro. Their Olympic basketball record includes 3 silver medals (2012, 2008 and 1984).
If the last Olympics was any indication, Spain has more than a shot to beat the US. The team had to struggle hard to win the gold, only winning by 7 points in the end. If Spain has a weakness, it is their age. All the above-mentioned stars are past 30, except Rubio.
2. Lithuania
Lithuania's best finishes at Olympic Basketball are 3 Bronze medals (1992, 1996 and 2000).
Team Lithuania should not be underestimated. Despite having no big names in their roster, like the Gasols, or Irving, they tend to step up their game when it is needed most.
Both Spain and Lithuania are the only two European countries which made consistent appearances in the Basketball Summer Olympics.
3. Argentina
San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili will lead the Argentina national basketball team. In his regular column at a local newspaper La Nacion, Ginobili said he "is focused on the national team."
Argentina won the Gold medal during the 2004 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Argentina upset team USA, composed mainly of NBA players, in the semi-finals, winning with a score of 89-81.
4. France
The French basketball team made it to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics by beating Canada, 83-74, in the Manila leg of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
Team France is headlined by Nicolas Batum, Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Rudy Gobert, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Nando de Colo.
De Colo once played in the NBA for the Spurs and the Raptors. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He had a much better showing while playing for Euroleague, winning MVP, and played great during the Olympic Qualifiers as well.
