LIVE UPDATES: USA vs Serbia – 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball 

MANILA, Philippines – The long wait is over.

After months of anticipation, Team USA finally takes center stage in the 2024 Paris Olympics as it opens its title-retention bid against Serbia on Sunday, July 28. 

Coming from a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, the all-NBA USA squad revamped its roster and added superstars LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Jayson Tatum back in the fold, as well as first-time Olympians Steph Curry and Joel Embiid, among others. 

Suiting up for USA for the first time since the 2012 London Olympics, the 39-year-old James is expected to show the way for the Americans as they begin their quest for a fifth straight Olympic gold.

James – the NBA’s all-time scoring leader – wasted no time reminding everyone why he’s still the king as he propelled USA to back-to-back nail-biting victories versus South Sudan and Germany in their last two exhibition matches. 

James dropped 25 points and delivered the game-winning basket in USA’s 101-100 come-from-behind escape of South Sudan last July 20, before firing 20 points, including 11 in the final quarter, in their 92-88 win over Germany last July 22. 

With Durant’s status for USA’s opening game still uncertain due to a calf injury, count on Curry to form a deadly one-two punch with James and shoot the lights out from long distance in his first-ever appearance in the Olympic stage. 

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic as he tries to lead Serbia to an upset victory.

The Serbians recently fell to the Americans by 26 points, 105-79, in their exhibition match last July 17 in Abu Dhabi. 

In that game, Jokic posted a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, but was held to a lowly 6-of-19 field goal clip by the swarming defense of USA big men Davis and Embiid.

Aside from Jokic, look for Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic to step up to the plate for the Serbians as they hope to get back at USA in a rematch of their 2016 Rio Olympics finals. 

It was the sharpshooting Bogdanovic who towed Serbia to a silver-medal finish in the recent World Cup in Manila with 19.1 points per outing.

Game time is 11:15 pm, Manila time. – Rappler.com