With the conclusion of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) — which saw Greece, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Brazil all win their way in — the field of 12 has been finalized for the 2024 Olympic basketball tournament in Paris.
Now that the groups have been decided and the full tournament field is set in stone, the Sporting News has the latest odds to win the gold medal on August 10, as well as the best bets, top sleepers, and highest-value long shot.
Can anyone beat Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and the heavily-favored United States? Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada play spoiler? Who will score on the Stifle-Tower duo of Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama on their home soil?
Let's get right to the opening DraftKings odds for the men's basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Odds to win
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
| Team | Open | Current |
| USA | -390 | -650 |
| Canada | +900 | +900 |
| Germany | +1000 | +900 |
| Serbia | +1300 | +2000 |
| France | +1900 | +3300 |
| Greece | +2800 | +4000 |
| Australia | +4500 | +4000 |
| Brazil | +5000 | +25000 |
| Spain | +5000 | — |
| Puerto Rico | +30000 | — |
| South Sudan | +30000 | — |
| Japan | +30000 | — |
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Best bet
USA (-650)
Big surprise: USA remains the team to beat. When America brings its best team, America's team tends to win — and it's safe to say that this version of Team USA is loaded.
The storylines are plentiful. It could be the final Olympics run for LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. A healthy Joel Embiid decided to suit up for the U.S., spurning opportunities to play for either France (he received a French passport in 2022) or his native Cameroon. 2024 NBA champions Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White look to go 2-2 this summer. And Anthony Edwards thinks he's the No. 1 option.
The 2020 Olympics in Japan (played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) marked the fourth consecutive Olympics in which the U.S. won it all, and this squad is expected to enjoy the same exact result.
This team has everything — passing, ball-handling, defense, rebounding, and of course, loads of scoring — but beyond that, it has winning experience and one of the best coaches of all time in Steve Kerr.
It's not a fun bet — risking $650 for the chance to make $100 will never be an enjoyable experience — but it would also be disingenuous to call any other team the "best bet."
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Top value bet
Canada (+900)
Canada continues to evolve as a hotbed for hoops, and it's easy to understand why so many bettors have flocked to the United States' neighbors to the north.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best players in the world, and Jamal Murray has demonstrated countless times that he's as cold-blooded as they come.
Add in some dominating perimeter defenders like Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Wiggins, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and you're talking about a team that can make some serious noise in Paris.
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Best sleeper
France (+3300)
No Olympic hoops betting preview would be complete this year without France, which sports a starting five of all NBA players including unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
This team is an embarrassment of rim-protection riches, but it can move the ball well and knock down a ton of three-pointers, too. It also has tremendous basketball IQ, solid coaching, and the one thing none of the other 11 teams in the field possess: the benefit of home-court advantage.
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Highest value long shot
Brazil (+25000)
Brazil arguably came out of the weakest overall group, somehow avoiding USA, Canada, and Greece. It also had the most convincing win at the FIBA Olympic qualifiers, decimating Latvia 94-69. Brazil enjoyed a 19-0 run to finish the first quarter up by 23 points, and never looked back.
Leo Meindl and Bruno Caboclo have been dominant offensively and on the glass, while the Brazilians' three-point shooting has also come together. They shot an impeccable 8-of-8 from outside the arc in the first quarter of the FIBA qualifier Final. This team is way too dangerous to be priced this low.
Olympics basketball Paris 2024: Full groups including the 'Group of Death'
| Group | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 |
| A | Canada | Greece | Australia | Spain* |
| B | Germany | France | Brazil | Japan* |
| C | USA | Serbia | Puerto Rico* | S. Sudan* |
* - eliminated
Group A was labeled the "Group of Death," with stacked Canadian and Australian teams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece, and a proven winner in Spain. It was easily the most difficult group in the Olympics.
Group B featured 2023 FIBA winner Germany, host France and the twin-tower duo of Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, and two scrappy squads in Brazil and Japan. It seemed like a very physical group, which could help Germany, France and Brazil on their quest for gold.
Group C had the best overall team, USA, but also Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Serbia as well as Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico.
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