The Paris Olympics village is expected to accommodate around 14,000 athletes. However, neither the male nor female members of the United States basketball team are staying in the town. The squad chose to make its own arrangements, following a tradition established since 1992, when the NBA team competed in the Barcelona Olympics.
According to Forbes, USA Basketball’s national governing body has traditionally housed its players in high-end hotels outside the Olympic system. It did so at the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, Athens in 2004, and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
For the Paris Games, they rented out the entire hotel in the city center, which had over 800 rooms. However, it is unknown whether USA Basketball will use all of the rooms. For example, during the Tokyo Games, the golfers stayed at the basketball team’s hotel.
“The expenses do not end with lodging, which apparently includes a five-star hotel in Lille for three group stage games. Transporting players to practices and games, as well as sending team equipment to Paris, must be organized. The USOPC helps in a variety of ways, including providing athletes with access to a high-performance training center it built in Paris and coach-class travel. According to Forbes, USA Basketball bears the cost of enhancements such as charter flights.
According to Forbes, it cost $15 million to bring the American basketball teams to the Olympics, which is expensive when compared to other sports. Meanwhile, USA Fencing spent $300,000-$400,000 to send 20 fencers to the Paris Olympics.
Forbes reports that the USA basketball team prioritizes security, citing the 2008 Beijing Games where hundreds of fans lined up outside the team’s hotel to see Kobe Bryant.
“To be honest, it’s a little overwhelming and embarrassing,” Bryant told reporters 16 years ago. “I’m just trying to blend in and, you know, duck my head down because I just want to be part of the mix.”
The current NBA squad in the United States features some of the highest-paid athletes. Forbes reports that professional athletes earn significant amounts of money from playing contracts, prize money, brand sponsorships, and off-field businesses.
The US squad includes LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry of the Warriors, Kevin Durant, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis, a LA Lakers forward.
The State Department supports the NBA’s security operations. “It’s very much undercover,” the former director explains. “It’s eyes and ears and coordinating with the locals just to make sure that everything’s fine.” The State Department pays its own expenses, and in some situations, the USOPC will collaborate with a local security agency.