Opening Odds Have US Heavily Favored to Win Basketball Gold at 2020 Olympics
- The United States Men’s National Basketball Team is the overwhelming favorite to win gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
- Team USA has won gold in the last three Summer Olympics
- Team USA is coached by five-time NBA champion and three-time NBA Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich
Sportsbooks have surveyed the international basketball landscape and all it sees is stars and stripes.
Oddsmakers are giving the US Men’s National Team -1050 odds of winning the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
2020 Summer Olympics Men’s Basketball Odds
| Who Will Win the Gold Medal in Men’s Basketball at the 2020 Olympics? | Odds |
|---|---|
| Team USA | -1050 |
| Field | +550 |
Team USA was Virtually Unbeatable Under Coach K
The ridiculously short odds are hardly surprising considering how the US has run roughshod over international competition during the last decade. Team USA went 75-1 from 2006-to-2016 under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, winning one FIBA Americas Championship, three FIBA World Championships, and three Olympic gold medals along the way.
Coach K’s star-studded squad was especially dominant at the 2016 Games in Rio, going undefeated throughout the tournament and beating Serbia by 30 points in their final match.
The World Cup Should Be a Cake Walk
Team USA still has to qualify for the Olympics by finishing in the top 8 at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, but that should be a mere formality given the remarkable talent at their disposal.
Throwback to Kyrie Irving vs. James Harden three-point contest at Team USA Basketball Practice pic.twitter.com/mpdCW6JNQE
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 11, 2018
New Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Popovich has the luxury of being able to pick and choose players from a pool featuring 28 current and former NBA All-Stars. He can even select all five of Golden State’s starters if he’s concerned about chemistry and cohesion.
No One Can Touch the US
The 2016 Olympics proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the US is in a class all its own. Had Team USA rolled out three teams rather than just one, it would easily have claimed all three spots on the podium.
The only team that came close to the US in Rio was Spain, but longtime team members Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Sergio Llull, and Rudy Fernandez will be well past their prime by 2020 and the Spanish pipeline has too many question marks to compete with the US. The same can be said for France, who will no longer be able to bank on Tony Parker or Boris Diaw, and Argentina, whose Golden Generation could now be mistaken for the cast of the Golden Girls.
The one team that could pose a legitimate threat is Canada. There are presently 14 Canadians on NBA rosters and many of them, like Tristan Thompson, Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, and Kelly Olynyk have spent years with the national team. They understand the nuances of international basketball and, unlike many of their foreign peers, are unlikely to be starstruck by Team USA.
Jamal Murray
R.J. Barrett
Dillon Brooks
Dwight Powell
Cory Joseph
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Tristan Thompson
Nik Stauskas
Kelly Olynyk
Justin Jackson
Trey LylesThat’s a potentially interesting 2020 Olympic team even without …. Andrew Wiggins.
Watch out for Canada in 2020.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) November 10, 2018
God Bless America
As promising as Canada looks on paper, the US is still the team to beat. No other squad has more depth, more skill, and more versatility.
USA Basketball learned from its bronze medal debacle in 2004 and has created a program that produces true teams rather than crews of mismatched and disinterested All-Stars. Count on them going undefeated again in 2020.
Pick: Team USA (-1050)
Ryan worked as an Editor and resident Lead NBA and MLB Writer for SB from 2017-19. He has authored his own weekly columns for Fox Sports and AskMen, and has created successful campaigns for the WWE, the NHL, and the NFL. Ryan's critically acclaimed stories have been published in 20 books.
