Rudy Gobert is already giving Team USA bulletin board material for Paris Olympics

It's going to be a long summer of basketball for the NBA's brightest stars, with the Paris Olympics scheduled to begin a little more than a month after the end of the NBA Finals. That means a slew of international players like Franz Wagner (Germany), Shai Gilgeous Alexander (Canada), Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Dante Exum (Australia) will all get a chance to try and take down the juggernaut that is Team USA.

One of the Americans' stiffest challenges at the games will likely be Team France, the host country, whose roster will almost certainly include Rudy Gobert, as well as current and former NBA players like Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele, Evan Fournier, Killian Tillie, Theo Maledon and rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama.

Team France may not have the same depth of star power as Team USA, but they've proven they can play at the same level, beating the Americans in 2019 in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup and again in the opener of the 2020 Summer Olympics before eventually losing by five in a rematch in the Final. And, as Rudy Gobert told French publication Le Monde, they're already dreaming about beating Team USA again: “I also dreamed of beating the Americans in the final. I saw myself as an Olympic champion. Doing it 'at home' is the opportunity of a lifetime."

Team France vs. Team USA could be the Olympics' biggest basketball rivalry

For years, Spain and Argentina were the biggest challenges to Team USA on the international stage. But with their recent success and twin towers, France will present a stiff challenge. This matchup also has a little extra heat for the French because of the saga of Joel Embiid.

Embiid told a French newspaper back in 2018 that he was open to eventually playing for Team France, even though he was born in Cameroon and had played high school and college basketball in the US. Boris Diaw, the general manager for Team France, has also said Embiid reached out to him about playing for France. Finally, there have been rumors of a letter Embiid sent to French President Emmanuel Macron in which he asked to become a French citizen so he could play for the team.

Despite all this, Embiid has opted to play for Team USA to the intense disappointment and frustration of many French players and fans. Embiid will be joined on the Team USA roster by Bam Adebayo, Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum.

Other strong Gold Medal contenders include Canada — whose roster features Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Alexander and more — Germany and Serbia. There are also four qualifying spots that have yet to be decided which could include Spain, Slovenia (with Luka Doncic), Greece (with Giannis Antetokounmpo) and more.