2024 Olympic Basketball Predictions: U.S. Team Favorites for Gold, South Sudan Rising

2024 Olympic Basketball Predictions: U.S. Team Favorites for Gold, South Sudan Rising

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are just around the corner and, as always, basketball will be one of the sports that will generate great excitement among fans and bettors.

After failing to win a medal at last year’s FIBA ​​World Cup, the U.S. team is aiming for a strong comeback.

The United States has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals and seven of the last eight, dating back to 1992.

This year’s Olympic roster features a total of 13 NBA titles and eight NBA MVP awards, with key players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, among others.

According to BetMGM, the U.S. team is the heavy favorite in sports betting, with 99% of bets placed on the men’s team winning the gold medal.

Let’s take a look at the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

MEN’S BASKETBALL OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL ODDS:

  • United States: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
  • Canada: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
  • France: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
  • Serbia: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
  • Greece: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
  • Germany: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
  • Australia: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
  • Spain: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
  • Brazil: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
  • South Sudan: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
  • Puerto Rico: +30000 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
  • Japan: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)

Odds updated on 07/26/24

Match Highlights: USA vs South Sudan

The U.S. had a major scare in a recent exhibition game against South Sudan. In a game in which the Americans were favored by 41.5 points, they narrowly escaped with a 101-100 victory.

LeBron led the team with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

This desperate situation increased South Sudan’s chances of winning the gold medal from +40,000 to +25,000.

Despite the narrow victory, the odds for the US team remained at -500.

Would the 1992 Dream Team or the 2024 U.S. team win a game?

One of the most heated debates among bettors and basketball fans before Paris was whether the current team could have defeated the 1992 Dream Team.

FOX Sports betting analyst Sam “Sammy P” Panayotovich spoke with a bookie who explained how he would hypothetically bet on a matchup between the Dream Team and Team USA 2024.

“The simple answer is pick them,” Dave Sharapan, a longtime Las Vegas bookie turned media personality, told Sammy P. “There’s no way in the world you can make Michael Jordan an underdog. So go Dream Team -3.”

On a recent episode of “The Carton Show,” FOX Sports basketball reporter John Fanta said there is “reason for concern” for the U.S. team.

“They just look disjointed when you watch them. It’s not always team basketball. In the rest of the world, these teams play very high and fundamental.”

Will you support Team USA’s gold medal victory in Paris?

By William Thompson Perry

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