Team USA are hoping to have everyone fit for Sunday's Olympic basketball opener versus Serbia, despite doubts over Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant.
Embiid and Davis have both been suffering from illness in recent days while Durant – Team USA's all-time record points scorer at the Olympics – missed their five warm-up games with a calf injury.
As the United States prepare to take on NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in their opening Group C game, coach Steve Kerr will give his stars every chance to prove their fitness.
"I'm confident we'll have everybody ready," Kerr said on Saturday.
Asked specifically about Durant's condition, Kerr added: "Hopefully he'll play.
"He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well, and we'll have another practice today and just keep taking it day by day."
The USA did beat Serbia 105-79 in an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, also overcoming Jokic and company in the gold medal match at Rio 2016.
The Denver Nuggets star averaged 26.4 points through 79 regular season games in 2023-24, only managing more in his second MVP campaign in 2021-22 (27.1).
Los Angeles Lakers forward Davis is wary of the threat he will pose to the USA's chances of starting with a win, as they target a fifth straight gold in the men's basketball competition.
"Jokic, with what he's able to do, obviously we know what he does in the NBA, but maybe he'll get a little bit higher usage in the international game," Davis said. "It's going to be fun."
The NBA's all-time leading scorer LeBron James, who helped his country win gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, is aware a fast start to their campaign could make all the difference.
"This is not like the NBA, where it's a marathon," James said. "This is a sprint.
"This is a Michael Johnson or Usain Bolt-type game. The real thing starts tomorrow, so we need to be ready to go, which we will be."
Fever's Clark scores career-high 31 to win final matchup with fellow rookie Reese
Before a sellout crowd of 9,445, Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 31 points to go with 12 assists in her final regular-season matchup with fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese to lead the Indiana Fever to a100-81 rout of the reeling Chicago Sky on Friday night.
Clark became the only player in league history with three games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season. She was 8 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 9 from 3-point range, in her 11th double-double.
Reese tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds, breaking a tie with Tina Charles for rookie double-doubles with 23 and passing Sylvia Fowles for the Chicago season record. Reese got the record with 1:32 remaining, long after Clark and the other Indiana starters left the game. She also has a rookie record 399 rebounds.
Clark may have locked up the top spot in the much-hyped Rookie of the Year race as the Fever (16-16) beat the Sky (11-20) for the third time in four matchups, solidifying their probable playoff berth while Chicago is barely hanging on to the last spot as the season winds down.
Warriors, Curry agree to one-year, $62.6million contract extension
The Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry have agreed to terms on a one-year, $62.6million contract extension that will keep the four-time NBA champion with the only franchise he’s ever played for through the 2026-27 season.
That campaign will be the 18th in the NBA for Curry, who is slated to earn $55.7million next season and $59.6million in 2025-26.
Curry, who captured a gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, has won four NBA titles and two league Most Valuable Player Awards while also earning 10 All-Star selections.
The 36-year-old guard was the MVP of the 2022 NBA Finals as well as the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game that season, and he’s been named to the All-NBA First Team four times.
Drafted by Golden State with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry is the all-time NBA leader with 3,747 made 3-pointers and is 10th in league history with a 42.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Curry is also the best free-throw shooter in NBA history at 91.0 percent.
Caribbean rising stars through to 100m finals at World U-20 Champs
The Caribbean will be well represented in the men’s and women’s 100m finals at the World Under-20 Championships as the main protagonists safely progressed from their respective semi-finals in Lima, Peru, on Tuesday.
Jamaica’s Deandre Daley cruised to victory in semi-final one to lead the men’s qualifiers with his 10.34s. Japan’s Naoki Nishioka (10.43s) also progressed.
Another Jamaican and medal favourite, Gary Card, was beaten into third in semi-final two, but his 10.39s was good enough for one of the fastest non-automatic qualifying spots. The race was won by Thailand’s Puripol Boonson (10.30s), ahead of South African Bradley Nkoana (10.30s). Carlos Brown Jr (10.63s) of the Bahamas missed out.
The other finalists are Bayanda Walaza (10.33s) of South Africa, Teddy Wilson (10.35s) of Great Britain, and China’s Jinxian He (10.36s).
On the women’s side, Kishawna Niles of Barbados easily progressed from semi-final one, which she topped in 11.39s ahead of Great Britain’s Nia Wedderburn-Goodison, who was also timed at 11.39s. Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso (11.89s) finished down the track and missed out.
Jamaica’s Olympian Alana Reid expectedly topped semi-final two in 11.44s, ahead of Nigerian Justina Tiana Eyakpobeyan (11.56s).
British Virgin Islands Olympian Adaejah Hodge (11.59s) booked her spot in the final as she placed second in the third semi-final behind Germany’s Chelsea Kadiri, who won in 11.52s. Puerto Rico’s Frances Colon (11.74s) was fourth but failed to secure one of the fastest non-automatic spots.
The 100m finals are scheduled for 6:30pm Jamaica time on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Lebron James of Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica’s Addison Alickson James both failed to progress to the men’s javelin finals. Lebron James threw a best of 62.67m for 13th and Addison James mustered 60.58m for 15th in Group A.
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