LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry vs. Nikola Jokic is quite the matchup in the 2024 Olympics men’s basketball semifinals Thursday. OK, it’s really the United States vs. Serbia, but you get the idea. The other men’s matchup features Victor Wembanyama and host France against Germany.
There will be plenty of attention on the purple stage at Stade de France, too, where the track and field highlights include 100-meter dash champion Noah Lyles of the U.S. trying to add the 200 gold medal to his collection and join such stars of the past as Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis, who’ve completed that sprint double at a single Summer Games.
And an attention-grabbing matchup in the women’s 400-meter hurdles is part of the program, with reigning Olympic champion and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S. and reigning world champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands going head to head for just the third time.
Other big Games are on the 2024 Olympics schedule for today, too, including the women's volleyball semifinals, which will see Team USA vs. Brazil. The U.S. women are the reigning gold medalists, but they've had a mixed bag of results in facing Brazil over the years: After suffering back-to-back gold medal match defeats against Brazil in 2008 and 2012, the United States got their revenge in Tokyo by capturing their first-ever gold medal in women’s volleyball, beating the Brazilians in straight sets.
Several local athletes are also competing in Games Thursday, including Evita Griskenas -- from Orland Park -- in Rhythmic Gymnastics, which will be live beginning at 6 a.m. on E!.
Today's full Olympic schedule can be found here. Below are a few highlights of what to watch and when.
Track and Field
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock
Lyles won the 100 by five thousandths of a second — yes, thousandths — on Sunday night, and is a big favorite heading into the 200, his stronger event. Until coming in second to Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in a 200 semifinal Wednesday night — still good enough for the American to advance — Lyles hadn’t lost a 200 anywhere since the Olympic final in Tokyo three years ago, when he wound up with a bronze.
A little less than an hour later comes the other race everyone is excited about: McLaughlin-Levrone vs. Bol in a showdown between this generation’s two top female hurdlers.
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Bol already picked up a gold in Paris with a terrific last leg for the Dutch in the 4x400-meter mixed relay on Saturday.
So far, McLaughlin-Levrone is 2-0 against Bol, beating her at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, then again at 2022 world championships. The New Jersey-born McLaughlin-Levrone initially claimed the world record in the 400 hurdles in 2021, and then broke it four more times to get it to the current standard of 50.65, which occurred at the U.S. Olympic trials in June.
Coverage begins at 3 a.m. on USA.
| EVENT | TIME (CT) | HOW TO WATCH | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s and women’s 4x100m Round 1 | 4:10 a.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Women's long jump (feat. Tara Davis-Woodhall) | 1:00 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Men’s Javelin | 1:25 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Men’s 200m (feat. Noah Lyles)🏅 | 1:30 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Women’s 400m hurdles (feat. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone)🏅 | 2:25 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Men’s 110m hurdles | 2:45 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock |
Volleyball
Coverage begins at 9 a.m. on NBC
| EVENT | TIME (CT) | HOW TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Semifinal: USA vs Brazil | 9 a.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock |
Water Polo
| EVENT | TIME (CT) | HOW TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|
| Semifinals: U.S. Women vs. Australia | 12:35 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock |
Basketball
Wembanyama, the NBA Rookie of the Year for the San Antonio Spurs, is as fascinating a basketball player as has come along in years, and him playing for host France against World Cup champion Germany should be quite the scene in the opening semifinal.
There will be superstars galore on the court for the second semifinal between the U.S. and Serbia.
Jokic, the NBA MVP three of the past four seasons for the Denver Nuggets, will face an American team that’s so strong it’s impossible for coach Steve Kerr to offer everyone the number of minutes they might ordinarily expect or deserve.
The U.S. has its own list of past MVPs on the roster, including James, Durant, Curry and Joel Embiid, and is trying to make an 18th appearance in the gold-medal game in 20 Olympic appearances.
The winners of the two games will play for the gold on Saturday, when the two losing semifinalists will meet to determine who leaves France with the bronze.
| EVENT | TIME (CT) | HOW TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|
| 2:30 p.m. | NBCOlympics.com, Peacock | |
| Semifinal: U.S. Men's vs. Serbia | ||
