Does a basketball team featuring LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, amongst others, really have reason to worry heading into the Olympics?

What might seem to be a wild suggestion on the surface is becoming a major topic of conversation in the sporting world, thanks to some underwhelming performances by Team USA in recent tuneup games.

On Saturday, the stacked Americans had to rely on a late layup from James and a missed three-pointer at the other end to escape with a one-point victory over South Sudan, the world’s newest nation and the lowest-ranked squad (33rd in the FIBA rankings) in the 16-team Olympic tournament. Team USA was merely 43.5 point favourites before the game.