The team: Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Chris Cenac, AJ Dybantsa, Jalen Haralson, Caleb Holt, JJ Mandaquit, Brandon McCoy, Koa Peat, Jordan Smith, Tyran Stokes and Jaden Toombs.
Bossi’s breakdown: When putting this list together a few things were top of mind. Most notable was wanting to avoid being prisoners of the moment or basing the ranking of the best gold medal teams on stats alone. That being said, it’s nearly impossible to deny what the 2024 team just finished doing. When we left the team trials in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago our general thought was something along the lines of “good luck world” but what the most recent gold medalists did, exceeded even the most ambitious of expectations.
Prior to this year, the most points any USA team had averaged was 107.5 points per game. This year’s team scored 128.6 points per game. While they did allow 64.3 point per game, the second most ever by the USA, they still managed to double up their opponents.
It doesn’t stop with scoring. Prior to this year, the most assists the USA had ever had in a single game was 36. The 2024 team averaged 40.3 per game. Their 163 steals were 29 more than any other year and the list goes on and on.
Featuring the No. 1 and No. 2 players in 2025 in Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer along with 2026’s No. 1 and No. 2 players in Stokes and McCoy among their 10 five-star prospects, this team was simply stacked. While earning MVP honors and leading seven players who averaged double digits for Team USA, Cameron Boozer’s 20.1 points per game matched his minutes per game. Boozer eclipsed longtime NBA star Bradley Beal’s previous USA Basketball U17 team-high scoring average of 18.3 points per outing.
Only time will tell how good this group is at the next level and beyond, but what they just got done says that they are the best youth team that USA Basketball has ever produced.