Pricing Olympic Basketball and Why Team USA Remains On Top

As the Olympic basketball tournament approaches, all eyes are on Team USA, a perennial favorite expected to dominate once again. They’re a huge favorite for a reason, as they’re able to consistently roll out a lineup featuring the best of the best in the entire world. And while one can reasonably make the argument that three of the top five players in the world aren’t from the United States (Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo), the United States has the deepest and most talented roster. 

On Wednesday, July 17, Team USA squared off with Nikola Jokic and Serbia for an exhibition game. Jokic is a better singular player than anyone on the floor for Team USA. But the United States has a far more talented roster and it showed, as they walloped Serbia by a score of 105-79. 

You know the roster is talented when LeBron James (a top-2 player ever) can score 11 points and his team wins by 26. The U.S. can also play with its lineups in a way that other teams cannot. They rolled out a starting five of Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. That meant that their bench consisted of Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Devin Booker (amongst others). That kind of depth is unmatchable, and why I think Team USA is the overwhelming favorite to win gold yet again.

So… who poses the biggest threat to Team USA? While Serbia (Jokic’s team) and Greece (Antetokounmpo’s team) feature transcendent talents, I don’t think they have the depth to give the U.S. trouble.

The two teams that I think could give Team USA a fight? France and Canada.

France’s roster is dangerous in large part due to their towering duo of centers in Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, who are 7’1” and 7’4”. FIBA basketball doesn’t have a defensive three-second violation, so those two can comfortably patrol the paint and limit shots. They are both elite rebounders, and Anthony Davis and Embiid will have their hands full trying to contain them and score on them in the paint. 

Canada’s roster features similarly talented NBA players and actually has the depth to make things interesting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP-quality player. Jamal Murray profiles as a very capable #2 for a championship team. Dillon Brooks, Lu Dort, RJ Barrett, and even Nickeil Alexander-Walker profile as elite role players, with three high-level defenders in Brooks, Dort and NAW. 

If I had to pick a team to threaten Team USA, it would be France. While I like Canada’s roster, they are lacking an elite big man to slow Team USA’s forwards and centers. Zach Edey, the 7’4” incoming rookie, would’ve been tremendously helpful, as would have been Andrew Wiggins, a 6’7” small forward capable of guarding the likes of Jayson Tatum. France can rely on their two bigs to punish the U.S. inside the paint, and hope that quality NBA role players like Evan Fournier or Nic Batum can thrive with the spacing provided.

Olympic Basketball Pricing

At Huddle, we take pride in offering competitive pricing for Olympic basketball, reflecting our robust and adaptable models. Our approach is competition agnostic, meaning we can price any event as long as there is a data feed. Our dedicated trading team in Las Vegas enhances these feeds with additional data points, ensuring high reliability and accuracy.

Our proven track record of market-leading uptime, demonstrated during the 2024 NBA Finals, ensures a seamless betting experience. During those finals, we managed to reopen lines within 15 seconds for 97% of suspensions, far exceeding the market average.

As the Olympic basketball tournament kicks off on July 27th, you can rely on Huddle for top-notch betting markets and unparalleled service, cementing our commitment to delivering excellence in sports betting.

Subscribe below and get the latest insights straight to your inbox