The United States is the overwhelming favorite in the Olympic basketball tournament that starts this weekend in Rio.
At this point, the real suspense is about who will win silver and bronze. Seven teams can conceivably vie for those medals: Spain, France, Serbia, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.
Here are some of the best players and most interesting non-U.S. storylines in the tournament:
Dario Saric | Croatia
Saric will make his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers this season after being drafted 12th overall in 2014. In the meantime, he will make his Olympic debut after helping Croatia win the Olympic qualifying tournament in early July. He was named the tournament's MVP after he scored 18 points in the final.
Saric is a tough, hard-working forward who rebounds well and handles and passes the ball like a guard. At 22, he will be one of the youngest players in the tournament, and he has a chance to prepare himself for his first NBA season with a solid outing.
Nando De Colo | France
De Colo, 29, had two unproductive seasons in the NBA with the Spurs and the Raptors, averaging about 12 minutes per game. However, since returning to Europe, he has become one of the continent's best players.
This season, he helped CSKA Moscow win the Euroleague championship. Despite the presence of five NBA players on France's Olympic roster, he might be as important as any of them. At 6-foot-5, he can play either backcourt spot and takes the pressure off Tony Parker, who has a lot of international and NBA mileage on him.
Patty Mills | Australia
Mills is making his third Olympic appearance and is the most important of the five NBA players on Australia's roster. Although it looks like Andrew Bogut will be back in time to man the middle for Australia, it will be Mills' play that determines if they medal.
His open-court speed can create a one-man fast break, and his ability to make shots -- Mills is a career 39 percent 3-point shooter in the NBA -- will be critical to his team's success.
Milos Teodosic | Serbia
At times, Teodosic has been described as the best player in the world outside the NBA. There are few players who pass the ball and see the court like Serbia's 6-foot-5 point guard. As part of the country's first team to qualify for the Olympics since it became an independent nation, the pressure is on his shoulders.
Teodosic is now 29, so time is running out on his opportunity to play in the NBA, but don't feel bad for him. He has played the past five seasons at CSKA Moscow, where, along with De Colo, he led the team to the Euroleague title this season and is one of the highest-paid players in Europe.
If Teodosic leaves for the NBA after his current contract ends in 2017, he has expressed an interest in playing for the Spurs or the Jazz, which would reunite him with former CSKA coaches Ettore Messina (an assistant in San Antonio) or Quin Snyder (head coach in Utah).
Pau Gasol | Spain
The 36-year-old Gasol has had one of the most storied international careers in basketball history, and he would like to add to that legacy in Rio. In addition to his MVP performance in helping Spain to the 2006 FIBA World Championship, he has silver medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and was the leading scorer in the tournament in 2004 and 2008.
Gasol will lead an experienced team that has given Mike Krzyzewski's USA squad its most difficult challenges. Although he will not have his brother, Marc, by his side due to injuries, there is enough firepower on Spain's roster to scare the USA one more time.
Jonas Valanciunas | Lithuania
The 24-year-old has already played four seasons for the Toronto Raptors, after being selected No. 5 in the 2011 draft. He has improved every season, and this year, he averaged a career-best 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Valanciunas has also gradually increased his role on Lithuania's national team and should be one of the best big men in the tournament in Rio.
At the 2015 European Championships, he averaged 16 points and eight rebounds in leading his country to the silver medal for an automatic berth in the Olympics. Surrounded by experienced teammates, Valanciunas can be a major reason Lithuania wins its fourth medal since 1992.
Carlos Delfino | Argentina
Delfino has not played in a basketball game since the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs with the Houston Rockets, when he injured his foot against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Finally, after seven surgeries, he is attempting a comeback with the Argentine team this summer. The results are promising.
This week, the 6-foot-7 Delfino scored 20 points in 24 minutes in an exhibition win over Serbia. At 33 years old, his NBA hopes might be a long shot, but the fact that he is back on the court is a small miracle.
Tony Parker | France
Like many international players of his generation, Parker was motivated to play basketball, in part because of the Dream Team in 1992. He hasn't won a gold medal like they did, but he has enjoyed a distinguished international run to go with his Hall of Fame career with the San Antonio Spurs.
Although he'll be making his second Olympic appearance, the highlight of his career with France was the 2013 European championship in which he earned the tournament's MVP award.
Nikola Jokic | Serbia
There were few bigger surprises in the NBA last season than Jokic. The 21-year-old center for the Denver Nuggets finished third in the league's Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 10 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes per game. He has plenty of room to still improve.
Although Serbia's team still revolves around the brilliant playmaking of Teodosic, Jokic brings an efficient, low-post presence with his scoring and passing. This team is built around its tenacious defense, but Teodosic and Jokic make the offensive end of the court a little easier for their teammates.
Boris Diaw | France
Talk about experienced. Diaw, 34, has played in three World Championships and seven European Championships for France and will be making his second Olympics appearance. In fact, he and Parker have been a fixture on the national team for more than a decade.
While Diaw's NBA career seems to be winding down after 15 seasons, he is still a focal point for France. An unselfish player, he does not have to carry his team as he once did, but his passing and unselfishness on a team with six current or former NBA players make France a definite medal contender.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas | Lithuania
The recent New York Knicks signee and former member of Unicaja Malaga is a late bloomer who went undrafted in 2011. In fact, he has been a member of the Lithuanian national team only since he debuted with the squad at the 2013 European championships.
At 6-foot-8 and 26 years old, Kuzminskas gives Lithuania an athletic and aggressive defender who has improved his outside shooting in Spain the past three seasons and every so often comes up with a spectacular play at the rim. The Olympics will give Knicks fans their first look at "Kuza."
Kevin Lisch | Australia
Lisch might or might not play a big role on Australia's team, but he is a great story. The Belleville, Illinois, native played for Rick Majerus at Saint Louis University, but since moving to Australia, he has become a stalwart in the National Basketball League. He's the league's reigning MVP and was naturalized a few months ago.
Lisch gives the Boomers a tough defender and a shot-maker in the backcourt. By the way, he is the son of former Notre Dame and NFL quarterback Rusty Lisch.
Yi Jianlian | China
Yi, the former top pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007 (No. 6 overall), also played for the Nets, Wizards and Mavs but left the league to return to China in 2012. Now playing for the Guangdong Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association, Yi is that league's most well-known player.
He has been the focal point of the national team since Yao Ming retired in 2011. He'll be making his fourth Olympic appearance. Yi could still be an excellent rotation player in the NBA; he can play both near the basket and out to the 3-point line and has a quiet toughness. China will be a long shot to get out of pool play, but Yi's play should be a highlight.
Leandro Barbosa | Brazil
Barbosa's first major international tournament for Brazil was at the 2002 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis, and he has been a mainstay ever since. At the same time, he has enjoyed 14 seasons in the NBA, including helping the Golden State Warriors win the title in 2015.
Barbosa will be playing with his national team in his home country, and the group will be highly motivated. As importantly, he will lead a roster with seven current and former NBA players, so Brazil will be dangerous.