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The United States men’s basketball team arrived in France for the 2024 Paris Olympics with the weight of history firmly on its back.
Since men’s basketball debuted as an Olympic sport in 1936, the Americans have dominated the competition, having won 16 of the 19 Olympics in which they’ve participated, including each of the past four after a disastrous third-place finish at the 2004 Athens Games.
The next obstacle in its quest for a fifth-consecutive gold medal is a familiar one.
REQUIRED READING: Follow USA TODAY Sports’ coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
On Thursday, Team USA will face off against Serbia in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the winner guaranteeing themselves of some kind of medal in the championship game against either France or Germany.
It will be the third meeting between the two countries in the past 22 days. The Americans rolled past Serbia 105-79 in a July 17 exhibition in Abu Dhabi and won in a rematch in the first game of the Olympics for both squads, a 110-84 victory on July 28.
The Serbians are led by Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić, who has won NBA MVP honors in three of the past four seasons. Jokić was characteristically brilliant for his country in a 95-90 overtime win against Australia last Tuesday in the quarterfinals, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Jokić is one of four NBA players on the Serbia roster, a group that also includes Bogdan Bogdanović, Nikola Jović and Vasilije Micić.
“We can’t get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday. “We have to be prepared for their best effort. We’ve got to think about what are they going to do differently. Jokić, I guess he could play 40 minutes. What else do they have up their sleeve?”
In the victory against Serbia in group play, LeBron James had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Kevin Durant came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points and make eight of his nine shots, including all five of his 3-pointers.
Here’s what you need to know about Team USA’s semifinal basketball game against Serbia in the 2024 Paris Olympics, including TV channel, streaming options, start time and more:
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics on Fubo (free trial)
What channel is Team USA basketball vs Serbia today?
Team USA’s semifinal basketball game against Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics will air on USA Network. A Spanish language broadcast of the game can be found on Universo.
Streaming options for the game include NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics app, Peacock and Fubo, the last of which carries USA and Universo and offers a free trial for potential subscribers.
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock
Team USA Basketball vs Serbia start time
- Date: Thursday, August 8
- Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
The broadcast for Team USA’s basketball game against Serbia is set for 2:45 p.m. ET Thursday from Accor Arena in Paris, though the Universo broadcast and the live streams aren’t slated to begin until 3 p.m.
A replay of the game will air at 11:30 p.m. ET on USA.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: Meet the members of Team USA competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Team USA basketball roster for 2024 Paris Olympics
Here’s a look at the 12 players on the Team USA men’s basketball roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, along with the coaching staff:
Players are listed in order of their jersey number, with number of Olympic appearances, including this year, in parentheses.
Team USA basketball players
- No. 4 Stephen Curry, guard (1st)
- No. 5 Anthony Edwards, guard (1st)
- No. 6 LeBron James, forward (4th)
- No. 7 Kevin Durant, forward (4th)
- No. 8 Derrick White, guard (1st)
- No. 9 Tyrese Haliburton, guard (1st)
- No. 10 Jayson Tatum, forward (2nd)
- No. 11 Joel Embiid, center (1st)
- No. 12 Jrue Holiday, guard (2nd)
- No. 13 Bam Adebayo, center (2nd)
- No. 14 Anthony Davis, forward (2nd)
- No. 15 Devin Booker, guard (2nd)
Team USA basketball coaches
- Steve Kerr, head coach
- Mark Few, assistant coach
- Tyronn Lue, assistant coach
- Erik Spoelstra, assistant coach
Team USA basketball starting lineup vs Serbia
This section will be updated once the starting lineup is unveiled.