Upon arriving in the metropolis of Lille, the players of the United States basketball team visited the Pierre-Mauroy stadium that will host the first part of the festival and were probably impressed.
“It’s huge! » Several members of the U. S. basketball team, which is expected to be the new “Dream Team” of the Olympic Games, were inspired by the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where the first week of the festival will take place.
A few hours after arriving in Lille, Team USA headed to Villeneuve-d’Ascq to see the venue and train there for the first time. Stephen Curry was able to take some shots quietly, while Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton laughed in a duel of shots in midfield and Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo took turns battling one-on-one.
The Pierre-Mauroy stadium, which hosts football matches, has been adapted to an Olympic configuration: the roof is closed, the hall is partially cut off and the air conditioning. ” It’s huge!” exclaimed guard Derrick White. No believe it. I’ve ever played in such a big venue, and it’ll be cute, I hated it. »
The decision to play the basketball tournaments at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy at the organizational level and then at the Arena Bercy in the final phase had caused sadness among those who would have wanted the entire competition to be played in Paris. “We are fine with that. ” said American head coach Steve Kerr. Lille are magnificent and everyone has to adapt, so it is not a problem. »
The Warriors coach was also inspired by the Stade Pierre-Mauroy: “It reminds me of the Alamodome in San Antonio (former Spurs stadium, editor’s note). It’s a huge stadium. It’s like All-Star Weekend 1996 (held through the Alamodome, editor’s note).
Steve Kerr also said winger Kevin Durant, who was nursing a calf injury, was able to train Wednesday. “Tomorrow we are going to have practice matches, so the plan is for him to play and we will see how he behaves. ” But today he seemed smart and he told me that he felt smart,” he said.
The Americans will return to Paris on Wednesday night and train there until Saturday, then return to Lille, on the eve of their opener against Serbia on Sunday.
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