Basketball has been one of the most high-profile events at the Olympics ever since Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird joined forces on the Dream Team more than 30 years ago.

Yet megastars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Canada’s own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — plus many of the world’s best women’s players — are playing large chunks of this year’s hoops tournament more than 200 kms from Paris.