Team USA defeats Serbia 110-84 as Steph Curry and Lebron James shine

Seeing Lebron James and Steph Curry’s connection on the basketball court for Team USA was remarkable. But let’s not get carried away with comparisons to the 1992 Dream Team.

The greatest shooter of all-time put on a show.

Steph Curry pulled out party trick shots from the land of plenty and even threw down a cheeky reverse dunk.

And that was just the pre-game show to the Dream Team’s opening game of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The circus started well before tip-off when King LeBron was the first to enter the court for warm-ups.

Stephen Curry is in fine form. Picture: Getty Images

The crowd that had congregated 60 minutes before the game went nuts. Fans, most of them wearing NBA jerseys, flooded the sidelines to catch a glimpse of their superstars.

It was iPhones at 10 paces as NBA fanatics fawned over their stars like crazed teenagers seeing their favourite Hollywood actor for the first time.

The biggest show at the Paris Olympics didn’t disappoint.

Dubbed the “Supreme Team” this collection of NBA superstars who collectively earn over $800 million a season were always going to be as big off the court as it was on it.

The squad has been surrounded by A-listers all week.

Two-time Super Bowl NFL great Peyton Manning popped into training at the weekend.

Three-time NBA champion and Beijing gold medallist Dwyane Wade joined a raucous sold-out crowd of 27,000 fans in Lille to watch arguably the best American basketball team since the infamous 1992 Dream Team that featured Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Lebron James and Devin Booker celebrate. Picture: Getty Images

Wade would have been impressed with what they saw as future Hall of Famers James, Curry and Kevin Durant didn’t disappoint in their Olympic opener against Serbia.

Durant produce a shooting masterclass as the Dream Team launched the defence of their Olympic basketball crown with a 110-84 win over Serbia on Sunday.

Durant, who missed the entirety of the US’s Olympic build-up with a calf injury, shot a near-perfect 8-of-9 from the field to finish with 23 points in a convincing win for the reigning champions, who are eyeing a fifth straight Olympic crown.

James provided scoring support with 21 points, with Jrue Holiday adding 15 points and Devin Booker finishing on 12.

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Team USA coach Steve Kerr spoke highly of James.

“LeBron puts his imprint on the game in so many different ways,” Kerr said.

“It’s not just his skill, his strength, his size, but it’s his emotion, his confidence. Just the way he infuses our team with energy and confidence at 39 (years old) is just amazing.”

Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP and arguably the greatest player in the NBA had passionate Serbian faithful in full voice but it did little to drown out the “Team USA” chants before a ball was tipped.

Once the bright lights came on, the focus was solely on basketball.

James attempts a basket. Picture: Getty Images

The US gave up a clumsy turnover on their first possession, leading to a Serbian bucket. Before you knew it the star-studded Americans were down 10-2, prompting a swift time-out from Kerr. Team USA soon found their feet to take control of proceedings.

Curry looked comfortable on the Olympic stage, knocking down his trademark three-point bombs from the carpark.

LeBron ran the floor like a runaway freight train. He may be turning 40-years-old in December, but the King is still as fearsome and effective as ever.

And Durant did his usual thing on the FIBA stage, dropping shots for fun as America’s all-time leading scorer.

As for the chemistry? To be fair, Team USA looks like a collection of superstar individuals taking turns to knock down shots. James and Curry were the most connected American pair, regularly putting on silky passes for each other. Remarkable when they haven’t played together on the same NBA team or on the Olympic stage before.

Jokic led the Serbia scoring with 20 points but the Denver Nuggets star couldn’t carry his team alone.

The verdict: cool your jets on the comparisons to the infamous 1992 Dream Team from the Barcelona Games.

Jordan, Bird, Magic and co won each game by an average of 44 points. World basketball has improved since then.

On Sunday’s evidence, Golden State coach Kerr’s squad will take some stopping when the 12-team tournament moves to Paris for the knockout rounds on August 6.

Originally published as Team USA defeats Serbia 110-84 as Steph Curry and Lebron James shine