How Olympic stars are performing so far in 2024-25

Although the Olympics are viewed as the top international tournament for basketball players and a huge honor to participate in, playing there is still a sacrifice that could have negative consequences, particularly for NBA players coming off of strenuous 82-game seasons plus long playoff runs.

Some of those players' 2023-24 seasons ended in May or early June, giving them a short turnaround before the Olympic basketball tournament started in late July, ending in August. There were also pre-tournament exhibition games in which those players had to take part. Those same players then had to return to their NBA teams in late September for the start of training camp.

That's a whole lot of basketball without much rest.

Let's see how some of the game's biggest stars are performing after such a tough year of nonstop basketball.

Anthony Davis 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 24.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 bpg, 55.6 FG%

2024-25 stats: 27.5 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.5 pg, 2.0 bpg, 52.9 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +5.1 (13th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +5.6 (14th overall)

A player who has bucked the trend so far and not shown much sign of fatigue after playing in the Olympics has been Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis, who looked early on in 2024-25 like a potential MVP candidate. He may have fallen off that pace a bit but even then, he's been unquestionably the Lakers' best player this season, putting up his highest points per game since getting to Los Angeles while rebounding and blocking shots at an elite level.

Verdict: Better

Anthony Edwards 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 25.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.3 spg, 35.7 3P%

2024-25 stats: 26.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.0 pg, 1.4 spg, 42.7 3P%

2023-24 BPM: +3.3 (32nd overall)

2024-25 BPM: +3.8 (27th overall)

Like Davis, Anthony Edwards hasn't shown much sign of fatigue this year. Aiding in Edwards' growth has been his adjusted shot selection, with the Minnesota Timberwolves star launching 10.5 threes per game this season, the fourth-highest clip of any player in 2024-25, and hitting them at a borderline elite clip. Edwards is also being smart about not recklessly attacking the basket this year, shooting just 14.8 percent of his shots within three feet of the rim as opposed to 27.6 percent of his attempts coming from that dangerous area over his first four seasons.

Verdict: About the same

Bam Adebayo 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 19.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 52.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 16.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 5.2 pg, 1.5 spg, 43.9 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +2.4 (45th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +1.7 (60th overall)

It hasn't all been roses and sunshine for 2024 Olympians in the NBA, however, as Bam Adebayo has clearly been affected by the additional fatigue this season. The Miami Heat star center has turned things up a notch of late, averaging an 18/12/7 stat line on nearly 58 percent shooting over his last three games, but his field-goal percentage on the campaign as a whole is way down because he's shooting it so poorly from around the basket. So far in 2024-25, Adebayo is hitting just 38.0 percent of his shots from between three and 10 feet of the basket, meaning the short floater range area, a shot that the big man has had to master considering he's undersized compared to most opposing centers. That's down from 51.5 percent accuracy from that same region of the floor last year. It would appear that Adebayo's legs are missing some of the bounce he's known for due to post-Olympic fatigue.

Verdict: Worse

Derrick White 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 15.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.0 spg, 46.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 17.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.9 pg, 1.0 spg, 45.0 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +3.8 (23rd overall)

2024-25 BPM: +3.9 (25th overall)

On the other hand, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White has managed to improve on his excellent 2023-24 season, putting up career-high marks in points and rebounds per game this season while averaging his second-highest nightly assist total. As such, BPM, one of the top NBA analytic tools, believes White has remained a Top 25 player in the league so far this year. What a luxury for Boston that arguably its fifth-most accomplished player can perform at a Top 25 level. Either way, White has not appeared to be affected by playing in the 2024 Paris Games.

Verdict: Slightly better

Devin Booker 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 27.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.9 apg, 0.9 spg, 49.2 FG%

2024-25 stats: 24.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.4 pg, 1.1 spg, 43.2 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +3.0 (36th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +1.4 (67th overall)

Last season, star 2-guard Devin Booker was an All-Star and 3rd Team All-NBAer. If this season were to end today, however, it's unlikely Booker would earn both distinctions again, as he's been highly inefficient despite his still-impressive raw averages. In particular, the former Kentucky standout and one of Team USA's top performers at the Paris Olympics has struggled to score around the rim. In 2023-24, Booker successfully hit 76.0 percent of his shots from within three feet of the basket; this year, that number is down to 63.3 percent. Booker's three-point shooting, which also requires a lot of drive and power from the legs, is down from 36.4 percent last year to 33.5 percent this year. Both signs are troubling and could be attributed to post-Olympic fatigue.

Verdict: Worse

Jayson Tatum 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 26.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 47.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 28.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 5.7 pg, 1.2 spg, 45.3 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +5.1 (36th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +6.3 (14th overall)

Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been on a vindication tour after his benching during the 2024 Paris Olympics and going 0-for-2 in potential MVP awards (Finals and Eastern Conference Finals) during Boston's recent championship run. Tatum is in the midst of an impressive run of 1st Team All-NBA seasons, receiving the honor in each of the last three campaigns, but he's arguably been even better so far in 2024-25. He may even get MVP consideration if Nikola Jokic stops being so freaking good (unlikely). Regardless, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr deserves some credit here, as not only did his benching of Tatum in the Olympics give the former Duke Blue Devil added motivation, but it also probably gave him fresher legs than some of the other players on this list.

Verdict: Better

Joel Embiid 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 34.7 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.7 bpg, 52.9 FG%

2024-25 stats: 22.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.6 pg, 1.2 bpg, 40.7 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +11.6 (2nd overall)

2024-25 BPM: -0.6 (122nd overall)

On one hand, after the 2024 Olympics, no one will ever be able to say Joel Embiid has never won anything from a team perspective. Embiid came up clutch for the Americans, too, primarily in the semifinal against Serbia, scoring seven straight points pretty late in the fourth quarter to keep Team USA afloat with the Serbians up by seven at the time. Team USA would eventually win the game 95-91, a result that would have been difficult to achieve without Embiid's mini-run in the fourth period.

Still, Embiid's presence in the Olympics has come at a huge cost, as the former league MVP has missed a ton of time so far in 2024-25 due to a knee issue, with his knee reportedly swollen for some time, hurting and also feeling unstable. Now, Embiid's contract extension (signed in September of this year, going through 2028-29 and worth three years and nearly $193 million) is looking pretty brutal. We'll see if Embiid is able to bounce back from the early-season injury woes but for now, as far as the Philadelphia 76ers are concerned, it looks like the big man participating in the 2024 Olympics was not a good idea.

Verdict: Worse

Jrue Holiday 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 12.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.8 apg, 0.9 spg, 42.9 3P%

2024-25 stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.0 pg, 0.8 spg, 32.8 3P%

2023-24 BPM: +2.1 (47th overall)

2024-25 BPM: -0.1 (109th overall)

Unlike his teammate White, Jrue Holiday's play has seen a downturn after participating in the 2024 Olympics, as the two-time NBA champion is now outside of the Top 100 in BPM after being a Top 50 player last season according to the same metric. A lot of that has to do with Holiday's shooting, as the veteran guard is hitting merely 32.8 percent of his trey attempts this campaign after shooting 40.3 percent from three over his previous four seasons combined. Of course, the fact Holiday is now 34 years old could also be a factor here, as perhaps Father Time is simply catching up to the UCLA legend.

Verdict: Worse

Kevin Durant 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 27.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.2 bpg, 41.3 3P%

2024-25 stats: 25.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.1 pg, 1.5 bpg, 44.9 3P%

2023-24 BPM: +4.0 (21st overall)

2024-25 BPM: +2.7 (43rd overall)

When he's been out there, former NBA MVP Kevin Durant, arguably the Team USA GOAT, has performed at about the same level this season as he did last year, hitting an absurd 44.9 percent of his threes in 2024-25, nearly four full percentage points higher than his rate last year. The problem is, that Durant is now in his second extended absence this year due to injury, as the 36-year-old has now missed 10 games on the campaign. Could the injury troubles be due to Durant having tired legs after taking part in the 2024 Olympics? That surely can't be ruled out. But he is 36 and could be having trouble staying healthy due to Father Time, too.

Verdict: About the same

LeBron James 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 25.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 8.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 54.0 FG%

2024-25 stats: 23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 9.1 pg, 0.7 spg, 49.5 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +6.5 (6th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +3.7 (30th overall)

The Paris MVP is having the best age-40 season in NBA history, but at the same time, this sums up his year prettywell: 

Four-time league MVP and our GOAT LeBron James is still ranked a Top 30 player this season according to BPM, which is an insane feat considering his age and the number of miles he's got on his body. But by his standards, there has been a clear downturn in James' output and impact in 2024-25. He's averaging over four turnovers per game (4.1) and shooting just 4.6 free throws nightly, the lowest average of his career. What's more, James hasn't been able to make up the difference with his three-point shooting this year like he's done in recent seasons, giving us a LeBron with the second-lowest BPM of his career, the lowest since his rookie season, and making him finally somewhat look mortal. Maybe with more rest here and there, James will be able to look like his late-prime self more often but for now, the soon-to-be-40-year-old is finally starting to somewhat look his age. There's a chance playing in the 2024 Olympics is in part to blame for that, as the extra miles and all that travel couldn't have helped.

Verdict: Worse

Stephen Curry 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 26.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 0.7 spg, 40.8 3P%

2024-25 stats: 23.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6.6 pg, 1.3 spg, 41.7 3P%

2023-24 BPM: +5.2 (12th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +7.5 (4th overall)

The most clutch player for Team USA at the 2024 Games was Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who caught fire against Serbia in the semifinal and against France, the home nation, in the gold medal game. Over those two contests, Curry averaged 30 points and hit 63 percent of his threes, including multiple difficult and crucial triples late in the game against France to seal the gold medal for Team USA. Curry has carried that over to a strong level of play so far in 2024-25, his age-36 campaign. We were close to putting Curry's verdict as "better" for this season but wound up going with "about the same". Regardless, Curry remains one of the best players in the league this season, showing no signs of fatigue thus far despite his busy summer.

Verdict: About the same

Tyrese Haliburton 🇺🇸

2023-24 stats: 20.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 10.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 36.4 3PT%

2024-25 stats: 17.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 8.4 pg, 1.3 spg, 33.6 3PT%

2023-24 BPM: +6.9 (5th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +1.5 (66th overall)

Indiana Pacers lead guard Tyrese Haliburton had no role in Paris but was a good sport about it, showing plenty of support for his teammates off the bench. Even so, be it due to all of the travel or an injury carried over from last season, Haliburton has not looked like his old self thus far in 2024-25, struggling to the point that his 2023-24 season looks like the outlier. Over the first couple months of 2023-24, a 27-game stretch, Haliburton was averaging 24.7 points and 12.4 assists on 50.2 percent shooting from the floor and 42.3 percent from three. He then closed out the final 42 games of his 2023-24 season averaging 17.2 points and 10.0 assists on 45.7 percent shooting (31.9 percent from three). That poor form has carried over thus far in 2024-25, so perhaps it wasn't a good idea for Haliburton to head to Paris with Team USA, even if he didn't get much playing time. The two-time All-Star looks like he needed more rest this past summer.

Verdict: Worse

Nikola Jokic 🇷🇸

2023-24 stats: 26.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 9.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 35.9 3P%

2024-25 stats: 32.3 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 10.2 pg, 1.8 spg, 50.6 3P%

2023-24 BPM: +13.2 (1st overall)

2024-25 BPM: +13.8 (1st overall)

It's hard to improve when you're at the level Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has been over recent years, but he might be doing just that, as Jokic's numbers, especially his 50-plus percent from three, are somehow getting even more impressive. Showing absolutely no signs of fatigue after taking part in the 2024 Olympics, Jokic if anything is suffering the same feat he suffered with Serbia this summer now with the Nuggets, and that is not getting enough help. That's not to knock his teammates with either team, as Jokic has played with some good players in Denver and with Serbia, he has just never played with another true star. Even so, Jokic looks in line to win his fourth MVP award this season if he keeps this up, even fighting over voter fatigue with his greatness.

Verdict: Even better

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 🇨🇦

2023-24 stats: 30.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.2 apg, 2.0 spg, 53.5 FG%

2024-25 stats: 29.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6.3 pg, 1.7 spg, 50.8 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +9.0 (3rd overall)

2024-25 BPM: +9.7 (4th overall)

Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, likely thanks to his youth and the lack of deep playoff runs in his career, looks plenty refreshed this season despite suiting up in the 2024 Olympics, performing at a similar borderline MVP level thus far in 2024-25.  A crafty scorer out of the midrange who can draw a lot of fouls and hit free throws at a very high rate, Gilgeous-Alexander remains a load to defend and will likely get more MVP love at season's end after finishing second in the vote in 2023-24.

Verdict: About the same

Giannis Antetokounmpo 🇬🇷

2023-24 stats: 30.4 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 61.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 32.5 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 6.2 pg, 0.5 spg, 61.1 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +9.0 (4th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +8.9 (3rd overall)

Despite playing for Greece a lot of summers, including in 2024 for the Paris Games, and having deep playoff runs in his career, former league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo remains an MVP-level player thus far in 2024-25. And we don't expect that to change anytime soon, as Antetokounmpo has firmly established himself as one of the most dominant scorers of his era, even despite his lack of outside shooting. His superhuman ability to never get tired, even now as a 30-year-old, is what sets him apart from most other players in the league.

Verdict: About the same

Rudy Gobert 🇫🇷

2023-24 stats: 14.0 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.1 bpg, 61.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 10.6 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 bpg, 64.7 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +1.8 (54th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +0.7 (79th overall)

Rudy Gobert doesn't look fatigued from the 2024 Olympics but maybe his age (he's now 32) is starting to catch up to him a bit, as carrying around a 7-foot-1 load for so long will wear down any player. Barely a Top 80 player this season according to BPM, Gobert does remain highly impactful, making the Minnesota Timberwolves 6.5 points per 100 possessions better during his time on the floor. Maybe it's his fit with the more ball-dominant and paint-bound Julius Randle that has caused his slow start to this season. Even so, we're not blaming the Olympics here.

Verdict: Worse

Victor Wembanyama 🇫🇷

2023-24 stats: 21.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 3.9 apg, 3.6 bpg, 46.5 FG%

2024-25 stats: 23.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 3.4 bpg, 48.0 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +5.2 (11th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +6.3 (8th overall)

Still so fresh thanks to being 20 years old, San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama led France all the way to the gold medal game at the Olympics, doing so as the country's unquestioned best player. He dropped 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds in France's gold-medal defeat to Team USA, a 98-87 loss for the French. Regardless, Wembanyama seems to be taking the next step in his career so far this season. Over his last nine games, Wembanyama is averaging 29.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 blocks on 52.4 percent shooting from the floor.

Verdict: Better

Franz Wagner 🇩🇪

2023-24 stats: 19.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 48.2 FG%

2024-25 stats: 24.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 46.5 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +1.2 (65th overall)

2024-25 BPM: +6.0 (10th overall)

Prior to the oblique injury, which will cause him to miss weeks at the least, the Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner was on his way to All-Star honors and potentially an All-NBA spot had he been able to keep up his recent level of play. Could the injury be in part due to playing so many games during the 2024 calendar year? It's possible but, at the same time, impossible to know for sure. Regardless, Wagner was playing like a Top 10 player this season following his participation in the 2024 Olympic Games. Here's hoping he gets back to that elite form after his return from injury.

Verdict: Better

Jamal Murray 🇨🇦

2023-24 stats: 21.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 48.1 FG%

2024-25 stats: 17.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 42.0 FG%

2023-24 BPM: +4.1 (19th overall)

2024-25 BPM: -1.0 (130th overall)

A player who probably needed to take a break last summer was Denver's Jamal Murray, who has multiple deep playoff runs under his belt, as well as a major knee injury. Murray just doesn't look close to his prime self right now despite being just 27 years old, shooting a career-low 33.3 percent from three and ranking 130th in the NBA in BPM for 2024-25. Right now, the Canadian scorer lacks lift on his jumper, hampering his efficiency as a shooter, both off the dribble and with his feet set from three. And considering he doesn't get to the rim like he used to as is, shooting just 14.4 percent of his shots from within three feet of the basket, he is too dependent on difficult shots to score right now, and they're simply not going down.

Verdict: Worse

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: How Olympic stars are performing so far in 2024-25