USA vs. South Sudan: TV Schedule, Start Time and Live Stream for Basketball Showcase

Zach Buckley@@ZachBuckleyNBAX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVJuly 19, 2024

USA vs. South Sudan: TV Schedule, Start Time and Live Stream for Basketball Showcase

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    ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 17:  (L-R) Anthony Davis #14, Joel Embiid #11, LeBron James #6, Stephen Curry #4 and Nigel Hayes Davis #18 of the United States gather after an exhibition game between the United States and Serbia ahead of the Paris Olympic Games at Etihad Arena on July 17, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images)
    Christopher Pike/Getty Images

    Team USA's pre-Olympic tune-ups haven't gone entirely according to plan, but they've still won all three of their exhibition games.

    It helps to have the kind of all-galaxy talent they possess.

    That talent should be on full display again Saturday, when the Americans tussle with South Sudan in their second-to-last exhibition. Let's dissect the matchup here with all of the scheduling information you'll need, a look at both teams and a preview of what you'll want to watch.

Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream

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    ABU DHABI, UAE - JULY 17: LeBron James #6 of Team USA looks on after the game against the Serbian Men's National Team during the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase on July 17, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates at Etihad Arena. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
    Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

    What: Team USA vs. South Sudan

    When: Saturday, July 20 at 3 p.m. ET

    Where: O2 Arena in London, England

    TV: FOX

    Live stream: Fox Sports app

Tale of the Tape

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    MANILA, PHILIPPINES - 2023/08/28: Marial Shayok of South Sudan seen in action during the second game of the group phase of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 between South Sudan and China at Araneta Coliseum-Manila. Final score; South Sudan 89:69 China. (Photo by Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
    Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Team USA has had a few clunky moments on the way, but it's still holding a 3-0 record with a pair of double-digit victories so far.

    Its strongest showing to date was its most recent, too, as the Americans rolled to a 105-79 triumph over three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and Serbia. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 24 points, Bam Adebayo tallied 17 points (and three triples) in 18 minutes off the bench and Anthony Davis racked up six rejections in just 16 minutes. They also limited Jokić to more shots (19) than points (16) and the same number of assists and turnovers (two each).

    South Sudan, which will soon have its first ever taste of Olympic basketball, enters this contest having just wiggled out of a double-digit deficit to down Great Britain by an 84-81 count.

    Marial Shayok, a second-round pick in 2019, starred in that contest with 27 points, four three-pointers and a critical block late in the game. He is joined on the Sudanese squad with former NBA players Carlik Jones and Wenyen Gabriel, as well as likely future NBA player Khaman Maluach, a 7'2" 17-year-old freshman at Duke who cracked the top 20 in the early 2025 mock from B/R's Jonathan Wasserman.

What to Watch

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    ABU DHABI, UAE - JULY 17: Anthony Davis #14 of Team USA looks on before the game against the Serbian Men's National Team during the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase on July 17, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates at Etihad Arena. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
    Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

    Given its superior star power, Team USA isn't playing its opponent as much as it's learning things about itself.

    Namely, it will tackle the topic of whether Joel Embiid still warrants a starting spot when Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo have been making more happen off the bench. So far, head coach Steve Kerr sounds committed to keeping Embiid in the first five.

    Fadeaway World @FadeawayWorld

    Steve Kerr expects to continue playing LeBron, Steph, and Embiid as starters: "Yeah, I like those three guys in the starting lineup. We've been looking at other guys around them and we obviously do have great options, but I like those three guys together." <a href="https://t.co/y0C6hJpW9U">pic.twitter.com/y0C6hJpW9U</a>

    Embiid was the league MVP in 2022-23 and would've factored in this past season's award race, too, had he stayed off of the injured list. But he missed multiple months with a knee injury and wasn't himself upon returning. Tack on the challenge of attempting to create chemistry and find his role on such a star-studded roster, and this can't be easy on the big fella.

    That doesn't mean Team USA has to stick with him as a starter, though. Davis has arguably been the team's best player so far, and Adebayo is averaging 11 points on 12-of-20 shooting and 5.7 rebounds. Embiid, meanwhile, has 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting to this point.

    This discussion will only quiet down if Embiid strings a few impact performances together. And he's running out of time to make that happen before the games really count.

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