Every member of the Toronto Raptors participating in the Olympic Games in 2024
The 2024 Summer Olympics are being held this summer in Paris, France, the first time the City of Light will be hosting the summer games since 1924. It also brings the summer games back to Europe, a somewhat central location for the world’s basketball culture.
That is largely why so many NBA players are showing up to represent their teams in the Olympics, including a positively star-studded Team USA roster consisting of titanic all-time players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Teams around the world are also stocked with talent, with every team boasting at least one player who played in the NBA last season, and teams such as Canada and Australia are filled to the brim with NBA talent.
While in soccer / football the World Cup is the premier event, and the Olympics often play second fiddle, it’s the opposite in basketball. For both the men’s and women’s competitions it’s the Olympics that are the pinnacle of international play, and the best players in the world show up.
Depending on how you rank the Top 10 players in the NBA, as many as nine will be competing in the Olympics this year: (in no particular order) Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with both Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards reasonable candidates for the 10th spot. That doesn’t even include Rudy Gobert, who won Defensive Player of the Year last season, or Victor Wembanyama, who may be a Top 10 player as early as next season.
As Toronto fans tune into the Summer Olympics and the top tier of men’s basketball, who should they be watching?
It will be relatively simple for Toronto Raptors fans looking to root for their players in the Paris Olympics: just watch Team Canada.
Team Canada is packed to the brim with NBA players; 10 of their 12 players are currently under contract in the league, including MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and playoff star Jamal Murray. While their best players are in the backcourt, they have a deep enough team to challenge any team in the field, and last year beat Team USA to secure the bronze medal at the World Cup.
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