“Richard Jefferson Gotta Be High”: NBA Analyst’s Ideal USA Starting Lineup for the 2024 Paris Olympics Leaves Fans in Fury

Team USA has reached 2-0 in the exhibition games ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. But the recent game against Australia finished 98-92. Although a win is a win, much more is expected from a team that aims at winning by a 40-50 point margin against their opponents. While the roster lacks no depth at all, coordination among the starting five has been an areas of focus for the people involved. During his recent ‘NBA on ESPN’ appearance, Richard Jefferson revealed the best starting line-up, according to him.

But before giving out his opinion, Jeff already clarified the team needs a starting five that work best with each other. And for this reason, one could be the best player and still not be on the lineup. “The US has a unique ability to have the biggest lineup maybe in the history of basketball. We have LeBron James at 6 ft 9.5… Jayson Tatum at 6 ft 8.5… We know Anthony Davis, he doesn’t like playing the 4 or 5. So we put Kevin Durant at 6 ft 11… He’s going to be my small forward. And then we’re going to put Anthony Davis… Then we’re going to put Joel Embiid,” he said.

The former NBA star argued this roster delivers both size and versatility. He further justified his selections by stating how KD helps in creating space and that Embiid needs two players on him all the time. As for Anthony Edwards, Jefferon believes with KD and Bron there, another all-time attack guy is not needed on the first unit. “In the second unit, go be that guy with Tyrese Haliburton. With Derek White. With Bam Adebayo. Go be that score,” he added for Edwards.

However. majority X users in the reply section of NBA on ESPN’s post do not seem to agree with Jeff’s choice of line-up.

Fans react to Richard Jefferson’s starting five for Team USA

The former NBA star had already detailed the reason for his choice. But it seems leaving out players like Edwards and Curry off the starting five is just unbelievable for some fans. “Richard Jefferson gotta be high man,” commented one such user. Notably, the Ant Man scored 13 points against Canada, coming off the bench and leading the team in scoring and 14 points against Australia.

Meanwhile, another X user doubted Jeff’s selection of LeBron James on the starting five. “Steph and LeBron old and liabilities on defense. Have them come off the bench,” he said. However, the fact the two stars received praise for their coordination against Canada cannot be ignored. And as far as defense is considered, Bron garnered praise for his defensive play as well. The said user still suggested Jrue Holiday, Edwards, Davis, and Embiid as a better starting line-up.

However, one user believes the starting line-up does not matter as the team is winning Gold, anyway. “They just need to work on their chemistry but they are so deep that it really doesn’t matter. You can throw a bunch of lineups out there,” he wrote. And is not much of an overstatement as even Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd had earlier stated this 2024 team to be better than even the 1992 Gold-winning team. “This team’s bench has starters on that team,” he said and so believes, team coach, Steve Kerr as well.

In such circumstances, it was only natural for a fan to find such a close game with Australia unacceptable. “This team should win every game by 25+… Even the best opposition doesn’t have more than 2-3 guys that would even make this roster!” he commented. This becomes even more important considering Durant had earlier stated he wants Team USA to win all their matches in 2024 Olympics by a 40-50 points margin. A 44 average margin was attained by the 92 Dream Team and with comparisons already going around, the fan’s demand isn’t all too far.

Amid all the varied opinions, there was one who agreed on Ricard Jefferson’s choice of starting line-up. He countered all those wanting to replace Embiid by reiterating Jeff’s point. “They were barely doubling anyone else but it was always 2 and 3 guys on Embiid. He need to continue to improve passing out of the double and triple team which he has done,” the X user commented.

However, only time and the tried and tested combinations will reveal the starting five from a roster that includes Durant, James, Adebayo, Booker, Curry, Davis, Edwards, Embiid, Haliburton, Holiday, and Tatum.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.