Basketball spinning challenge stymies Curry, Lebron, others on Team USA

Practices are underway for Team USA’s men’s basketball squad ahead of the Olympics, with a surprising question dividing camp.

Can you spin a basketball on your finger?

The query is simple enough. And with Team USA representing one of the most loaded rosters international basketball has ever seen, it stands to reason that the answer would be an easy yes across the board.

That was not the case. Some players, led by Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, spun the ball with no issue. But despite Joel Embiid’s prediction that he’d probably be the only player on the squad unable to achieve the feat, the Philadelphia 76ers center proved far from alone in his struggles.

A skill not all possess… Who on the #USABMNT can spin a ball on their finger? 🤔👀🏀 pic.twitter.com/mRwKDfJOKO

— NBA (@NBA) July 8, 2024

Stephen Curry, the team’s 10-time All-NBA point guard, was among those unable to sufficiently bend the ball’s motion to their will.

“I can do a lot of things with a basketball,” Curry said. “That is the one thing that I cannot do.”

LeBron James might be the NBA’s all-time leader in points, but he joins Curry and Embiid on the list of those who can’t spin the ball. The skill also isn’t in the repertoire of star Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Durant, who predicted the entire team would be able to accomplish the feat, was particularly surprised by Haliburton’s struggles.

“Hali? At point guard don’t know how to do it?” Durant quipped.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was succinct in his assessment of Haliburton’s failed effort: “Gen Z.”