Team USA moved into the semifinals of the men’s basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a quarterfinal victory against Brazil on Tuesday.
The upcoming rematch against Serbia could pit two Miami Heat players against each other as they compete for a berth in the championship game: Bam Adebayo from Team USA and Nikola Jovic from Serbia.
Jovic reportedly is suffering from an illness and was unable to play in Serbia’s quarterfinal victory against Australia on Tuesday, so it is unknown if he will be recovered enough to face Adebayo and the Americans on Thursday.
Adebayo, however, seems to still be in good form as he scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds coming off the bench in the 122-87 quarterfinal victory over Brazil. Former Heat star LeBron James was again in the starting lineup and contributed 12 points and nine assists in the win.
Team USA and Serbia faced each other in the opening game of the group stage, and the Americans emerged with a 110-84 victory. Adebayo contributed four points and two rebounds in that game, while Jovic scored five points with two rebounds.
The United States also defeated 105-79 Serbia in an exhibition game leading up to the official Olympic competition.
Based on those previous results, Team USA looks to be the prohibitive favorite to defeat Serbia, which is led by NBA superstar Nikola Jokic, and advance to the gold-medal game. The United States is looking to win its fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball.
In the other semifinal, host country France, led by Victor Wembanyama, will face Germany. In the quarterfinals, France defeated Canada 82-73 on Tuesday, and Germany advanced with a 76-63 win against Greece.
The United States defeated France, without Wembanyama, in the championship game to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Team USA, led by coach Steve Kerr with Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the staff, is undefeated at the Olympics using varied lineups and rotations based on the matchups its opponents present.
If Team USA can notch another victory against Serbia, it will advance to the gold-medal game, which is scheduled for Saturday.
