Lottery Draft pick Nikola Topic names a team of five European stars who could beat Team USA
Team USA is on a mission to redeem itself on the international stage after failing to make a podium finish in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Many of the best current American stars have committed to play, which doesn't bode well for other nations who want to snap the Red, White, and Blue's streak of four gold medal finishes in the Olympics.
Serbian youngster Nikola Topic has an idea of what team could defeat the US, and it involves a starting five of the best European hoopsters today.
"Vasilije Micic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic," he told BasketNews.
A trio of All-NBAers plus two European legends
Topic topping off his team with Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and Jokic might already be enough, regardless of who the other two players are. The trio has dominated the All-NBA teams in the past few seasons and are generally considered three of the best hoopsters today.
Besides being nearly unstoppable in the NBA, the three of them have also been difficult to contain in international tournaments. For instance, Doncic has been a fixture in mythical teams in the previous Olympic Games and World Cup.
It's worth noting, though, that Antetokounmpo has never appeared in the Olympics before. He has the opportunity to make his debut in the summer games this year, but Greece has a tall task ahead of in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where it is grouped with Slovenia and Croatia.
Micic and Bogdanovic seem to be the perfect fit for the trifecta of the aforementioned stars, even if they haven't found the level of success in the NBA that their would-be teammates on Topic's team have. But Micic's playmaking abilities and Bogdanovic's outside shooting and shot-creation prowess would have their backcourt counterparts from Team USA scampering on defense.
Topic missing out on the party
Unfortunately for Topic, he would have to miss out on playing against the star-studded US squad, which the Serbian national team coach has claimed is better than the Dream Team. While Serbia has already qualified for the Paris Games on the heels of its silver-medal finish in the 2023 World Cup, the 18-year-old guard is still recovering from a partially torn ACL.
The good news for the projected top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is that he doesn't have to wait long before he gets the chance to play once more against the current members of Team USA. Topic just has to focus on his recovery so that he can suit up in the 2024-25 season.
