The men and women who are representing Team USA in the sport of basketball in the 2024 Paris Olympics are staying outside of the Olympic Village — located in the suburbs of France’s capital city — for a pretty penny.
“Between USA Basketball’s outlay and other resources provided by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the State Department, Forbes estimates it cost $15 million to send the American basketball squads to the Olympics, an astronomical figure compared with other sports,” Justin Birnbaum wrote.
For comparison, it will reportedly cost significantly less money to send folks to the Olympics who are competing in fencing for the United States.
“Phil Andrews, the CEO of USA Fencing and former CEO of USA Weightlifting, estimates that the cost of sending his 20 fencers to the Paris Olympics is between $300,000 and $400,000, including both his organization’s and the USOPC’s contributions,” Birnbaum wrote.
Staying outside of the Olympic Village provides several benefits for Team USA’s athletes, not the least of which is effective security and an escape from distractions that could impede the players’ quest for gold medals.
“The off-site advantages extend beyond security, though, with the teams able to exert more control over their scheduling, nutrition and visits from family members, who are barred from entering the Village,” Birnbaum wrote. “USA Basketball also gets more leeway with room assignments than it would have in the Village, where teammates become roommates. The goal, of course, is a distraction-free environment to focus on bringing home gold.”
USA Basketball reportedly rented out a hotel in the heart of the city prior to the start of the Olympics. The hotel includes around 800 rooms in total to house players as well as families, staff, executives and league personnel.
“For Paris, USA Basketball rented out the entirety of a hotel in the city center with roughly 800 rooms, according to the former director, who was involved with the contract negotiations around 2019 and 2020,” Birnbaum wrote. “(The former director declined to share the exact location because of security concerns.) There’s a large traveling party to accommodate, including not only players but also their families, support staff members, executives and NBA personnel.”
The decision to place Team USA’s men’s and women’s basketball players at a hotel separated from the Olympic Village was seemingly the right decision, as both teams are on track to win gold medals.
First, the men’s iteration of Team USA has yet to lose a game since its stint in Paris kicked off versus Serbia on July 28. Team USA defeated Nikola Jokic and company by a final score of 110-84 and then proceeded to earn a 17-point victory over South Sudan — who gave the squad a run for its money during the USA Basketball Showcase — three days later.
The squad — led by the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards — won’t play again until the morning of Aug. 3, when Team USA is scheduled to take on Puerto Rico.
The women’s iteration of Team USA is also undefeated in Paris thus far through two games. Behind a dominant showing from Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson — who dropped a team-high 24 points while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line — the team beat Japan in convincing fashion in its most recent game, considering the final score was 102-76.
