Happy Monday! The 2024 Olympic Games have concluded, and Sixers superstar Joel Embiid won a gold medal as the starting center for Team USA after the Americans defeated France in an epic gold medal game. Let's recap Team USA's journey, look to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and touch on an under-the-radar Eastern Conference team in the 2024-25 season:

Joel Embiid wraps up debut Olympic run

After electing to play for Team USA over France or Cameroon, Embiid had a rough start to his first Olympics -- and the crowds in Paris got a kick out of it. For the majority of the tournament, Embiid was booed whenever he was introduced or had the ball in his hands. 

It was not remotely surprising that Embiid required a significant adjustment to the international game: it is a much different setting than an NBA environment -- which is the only one he has ever known beyond his one collegiate season -- and not only was it his first time sharing the floor with any of his teammates, but it was the first time he was not at the center of everything his team did on both ends of the floor.

Embiid's shining moment during this run was unquestionably his showing against Nikola Jokić and Serbia in the semifinal. Team USA was genuinely on the ropes, trailing by double-digits entering the fourth quarter. Embiid, Stephen Curry and LeBron James ensured that they remained in the game, and the three superstars teamed to drag their squad back and avoid a disastrous loss that would have embarrassed USA Basketball. Embiid finished that game with 19 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and was far and away head coach Steve Kerr's best defensive option against Jokić, who scored just 17 points on 7-17 shooting in the game.

Stephen Curry has Olympic moment

It would be silly to continue discussing the men's basketball side of these Olympics without talking about Curry, who stumbled his way through much of the tournament before setting the two medal games ablaze with 17 combined threes. He was the true star of the Serbia game, knocking down nine triples and scoring 36 points.

But then the France game came around, and with the French pushing up against Team USA's lead relentlessly, Curry made an executive decision that the Americans were not going to lose the game, and closed it out with an epic display of three-point shooting -- quite possibly the most impressive barrage of threes I have ever seen:

It is hard to believe that Curry had never participated in the Olympics before this, but it seemed inevitable that he would create an iconic moment or two. That is exactly what he did.

Olympic standouts in NBA free agency

One of the underrated aspects of Olympic basketball play is the impact it could have for non-NBA players as they try to either get into the league for the first time or break back in.

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A few notables from this run:

• French forward Guerschon Yabusele, drafted in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, spent two years with the team before being jettisoned. Yabusele was a critical part of his team's run to a silver medal thanks to his sturdy, multipositional defense and a jumper that has improved significantly since his time in the NBA. He will always be remembered for dunking on James in the final game.

• Veteran French sharpshooter Evan Fournier has appeared in at least 30 NBA games in every season since 2012-13, but he will turn 32 years old in October and appears to have fallen off athletically in recent years. He most recently played for the Detroit Pistons to finish the 2023-24 season, but is not under contract with a team at the moment.

• A first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2014, Bruno Caboclo last appeared in an NBA game on Jan. 12, 2021. Caboclo's length and athleticism made him a tantalizing prospect, but his skill level never came around. It appears he has made major strides as a shooter in recent years, which could put him on the radars of some NBA teams if he has interest in making another run at playing in America.

Maxey 2028?

Now that the 2024 iteration of Team USA has won gold, attention turns to the 2028 games in Los Angeles. Sixers forward KJ Martin has one idea about a young player who could represent the red, white and blue...

It isn't remotely difficult to imagine Maxey playing -- and thriving -- in the international environment in four year's time. Anthony Edwards -- if you want to call him a guard -- is as close as there is to a lock to make a team that will not meet for another four years. Devin Booker was outstanding as this team's starting shooting guard, and should have a roster spot in 2028 as long as he wants one. Which guards could also contend for spots on Team USA in 2028?

• Tyrese Haliburton likely has a significant advantage over Maxey, as the Indiana Pacers' star point guard was on the 2024 team (though he was used sparingly). 

• New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson would have a head start against Maxey if the team was being selected right now. But in 2028, my money would be on a 27-year-old Maxey being better than a 31-year-old Brunson. 

• Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers will be 32 years old when the 2028 Olympics begin, but at the torrid pace he is on, he will be one of the most accomplished guard scorers for his age in league history at that time. In four years from now, he could be one of the team's grizzled veterans.

• If Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies has settled down by 2028 and off-court distractions are not prevalent enough to dissuade USA Basketball, he could be an extremely strong contender for a roster spot. Morant and the Grizzlies are entering a massive season in 2024-25.

• USA Basketball could be concerned that Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young operates in a nature that is too heliocentric to fit into an Olympic environment, but there is no doubting Young's ability. He is a brilliant passer with unlimited shooting range.

A few other names who could be in the conversation: LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings), Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies).

An Eastern Conference sleeper

I completed my Sixers Eastern Conference preview series on Friday with a story on the Miami Heat, who in 2023-24 were one loss away from not making the playoffs, are built around an aging, injury-prone superstar in Jimmy Butler and lost a vital contributor in Caleb Martin. And yet, it appears to be a lock that they will at least be in the Play-In Tournament.

This underscores how bad the bottom of the Eastern Conference is likely going to be next season, as several teams bottom out.

The Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards are all expected to be out of playoff contention next season (and perhaps for years to come). The Hawks could very well take a step back after trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for a package centered around a young wing in Dyson Daniels and draft picks. The Chicago Bulls will absolutely take a step back following the exit of DeMar DeRozan. The Toronto Raptors could contend for a Play-In spot if they wanted to, but it might behoove them to aim for better draft lottery odds -- even if they do not trade veterans like Bruce Brown.

Does all of this make the Charlotte Hornets a stealth Play-In contender? It may sound crazy, but follow me here... Ball is a dynamic offensive engine when healthy; at 20 years old he averaged 20.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game in an All-Star season. They have made two recent trades with the Dallas Mavericks, one in which they received draft compensation to downgrade from P.J. Washington to Grant Williams and one in which they received draft compensation to take on young, athletic wing Josh Green (Green is a rotation wing, but the Mavericks needed to shed his salary to acquire Klay Thompson). The rest of their roster has just enough skill and athleticism that I do not think it is impossible for first-year head coach Charles Lee to rally the troops en route to 35-ish wins and a Play-In appearance... for whatever that's worth.

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