Olympic Basketball TV Schedule: When, Where to Watch Team USA Men's Basketball

Team USA is going to be the premier attraction during the basketball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

They have the most talent, by far, of any team in the tournament and a majority of the players on the roster can be considered international superstars that are marketable across the globe.

Anything less than a gold medal would be considered a major disappointment for a group that features LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and a number of other NBA superstars.

However, there are a few teams—notably Spain, Argentina, Brazil and France—that have a real chance of upsetting the Americans in the tournament.

The international competition has gotten much more fierce since the days of the ’92 Dream Team, and the current USA team will be facing plenty of legitimate NBA All-Stars in the 2012 Olympics.

Let’s take a look at where you can watch each and every game for this star-studded group and when they will be taking place.

Where: Olympic Park, Basketball Arena and North Greenwich Arena, London, England

When: Sunday, July 29 through Sunday, August 12*

*Championship Game will be played that day, Group Play ends Monday, August 6

Watch: NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC Basketball channel will all have Team USA men’s basketball coverage during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com will live stream every basketball game. 

Team USA Group Schedule

Sunday, July 29 – USA vs. France – 9:30 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Tuesday, July 31 – Tunisia vs. USA – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Thursday, August 2 – USA vs. Nigera – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Saturday, August 4 – Lithuania vs. USA – 9:30 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Monday, August 6 – USA vs. Argentina – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Knockout Schedule

Wednesday, August 8

Quarterfinal Game 1 – 9:00 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Quarterfinal Game 2 – 11:15 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Quarterfinal Game 3 – 2:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Quarterfinal Game 4 – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Friday, August 10

Semifinal Game 1 – 12:00 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Semifinal Game 2 – 3:45 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Sunday, August 12

Bronze Medal Game – 6:00 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Gold Medal Game – 10:00 a.m. ET – Live on NBC, NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Key Player to Watch

Kevin Love

According to SheridanHoops, the Minnesota Timberwolves star is struggling with his role on Team USA and has performed poorly on the court as a result.

He was a superstar with the squad during the World Championships in Turkey, but has been sluggish in the Olympics and hasn’t dealt well with being a deep bench player whatsoever.

Love is one of the few big men on the roster and one of the better long-range shooters on the team, which means he should theoretically be getting plenty of floor time, but that hasn’t been the case.

He needs to practice hard and show up with his "A" game during group play or he will get buried when the knockout rounds begin.

Love obviously isn’t going to be the scoring threat that LBJ, KD, Kobe or ‘Melo are, but his rebounding, size and shooting would greatly help this team if he can step up and get some minutes.

Prediction

Team USA is going to win the gold medal.

Despite the solid field of competition, no other country boasts the talent that the Americans have. While they have a concerning lack of size, Team USA’s scoring and athleticism at the other positions are too much for any other team to overcome.

There will certainly be some close games, but there is no chance that the US loses in London this summer.