The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are on the horizon, and as usual, basketball will be one of the sports that generates great excitement from fans and bettors.
After failing to medal at last year's FIBA World Cup, Team USA will look to bounce back in a big way.
The USA has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals and seven of the last eight, dating back to 1992.
This year's Olympic roster has a combined 13 NBA titles and eight NBA MVP awards, and is headlined by LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, among others.
According to BetMGM, team USA poses a massive liability at the sportsbook, as 99% of the betting handle is on the men's team to win the gold medal.
Let's take a look at the gold medal odds for the 2024 Paris Olympics via DraftKings Sportsbook.
MEN'S BASKETBALL OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL ODDS: *
USA: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Canada: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
France: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Serbia: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Greece: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Germany: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Australia: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Spain: +5000 (best $10 to win $510 total)
Brazil: +10000 (best $10 to win $1,010 total)
South Sudan: +25000 (best $10 to win $2,510 total)
Puerto Rico: +30000 (best $10 to win $3,010 total)
Japan: +50000 (best $10 to win $5,010 total)
* odds as of 7/22/24
The USA got a big scare in its recent exhibition game against South Sudan. In a game in which the Americans were favored by 41.5 points, they narrowly escaped, 101-100.
LeBron led the team with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The close call helped South Sudan's gold medal odds climb up the board to +25000 from +40000.
Team USA's odds stayed put at -500, despite the near miss.
So far, the squad is 3-0 in friendly play, having also defeated Canada and Australia.
One debate that has prevailed among bettors and basketball junkies leading up to Paris is whether the current team could have defeated the 1992 Dream Team.
FOX Sports betting analyst Sam "Sammy P" Panayotovich spoke to an oddsmaker who explained how he'd hypothetically handicap a Dream Team vs. USA 2024 Team matchup.
"The easy answer is to make it a pick ‘em," longtime Vegas bookmaker turned media personality Dave Sharapan told Sammy P. "Ain’t no way in hell we’re making Michael Jordan a 'dog. So you go out to Dream Team -3."
On Monday's episode of "The Carton Show," FOX Sports basketball reporter John Fanta said that "there is cause for concern" for Team USA.
"It just feels like they're disjointed watching them. It's not team basketball all the time. The rest of the world — these teams play at a very high, fundamental way."
So are you backing Team USA to win the gold medal in Paris?
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