Team USA opens Olympic play at 9:30 Sunday morning with France.
Although heavily favored to win the 12-nation tournament and capture gold just as they did four years ago in Beijing, the superstar-studded U.S. squad will face a talented field loaded with NBA players.
The French team will be led by San Antonio guard Tony Parker and featuring five other NBA players-Ronny Turiaf, Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Seraphin and Nando de Colo.
"It's a big test for us," U.S. forward Carmelo Anthony said. "We're going up against guys that we normally play on a night-to-night basis, and those countries have put them all together just like we have. And at the end of the day their main goal is to beat the United States.
"There's going to be some good battles."
France will be only the first test for Team USA as they continue on to a gold medal.
Spain, Argentina and Brazil are all talented enough to not only compete with the U.S., and possibly upset the world's No. 1 team.
That wasn't the case four years ago, when the U.S. steamrolled through the field, winning by at least 20 points in each of its first seven games before beating Spain 118-107 in the final.
Team USA head coach Mike Kryzewski, who guided the 2008 "Redeem Team" to gold, believes a potential road to gold could have some dangerous bumps but remains confident in his team to get the job accomplished.
"We're ready," said coach Krzyzewski.
To watch Team USA take on the French click here.
