Easily winning their first 3 Showcase games in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, Team USA probably thought they had nothing to worry about heading into their final stretch of warmup games before the Olympics. However, their London trip began with a harsh reality check as South Sudan gave Anthony Edwards and Co. a run for their money. Barely coming out with a 1-point win in the final seconds, thanks to Bron’s heroics, Steve Kerr immediately took accountability, being inches away from suffering massive embarrassment.

Looking back on what went wrong for Team USA in today’s game, Kerr said during the presser, “First of all, South Sudan was amazing. Royal and his staff did a great job preparing their team for this game. I didn’t do a great job preparing our team. I think we did not focus enough on what they’re capable of and that’s on me.” Despite being heavy underdogs, South Sudan at one point gained a 16-point advantage over the mighty Team USA.

Had it not been for LeBron James and Co.’s 18-0 run in the second half, the Americans might have faced their first defeat of the ongoing campaign. Moreover, the struggles in today’s game have further highlighted Steve Kerr’s decision to not push Anthony Edwards to the starting lineup. Despite being one of the biggest young stars in the world, Ant-Man has come off the bench in three of the four showcase games so far. That surely raises a lot of eyebrows, considering Edwards has been the highest scorer for Team USA through the first four showcase games with 54 points, even surpassing superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry, tied at 51 points.

Even former Warriors’ star Gilbert Arenas pointed out on his pod that Kerr might have a hidden agenda behind not giving Ant-Man the nod. “He’s a head coach of an NBA team. He has his own agenda. That right there, that’s bad… If you’ve been killing my team all season, I don’t f**k with you. I’m not going to f**k with you in the USA team.” Yes, being in the same conference, Edwards caused a lot of problems for Stephen Curry and Co. all season long with his dominant performance. But does that mean Kerr has a personal vendetta against the two-time All-Star? Well, there is no proof of that.

However, one thing we do know is that Kerr knows he messed up in his preparation for today’s game against South Sudan, “You know I think we did not focus enough on what they’re capable of and that’s on me. And I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early.” And he surely wouldn’t want to repeat the same mistake in Paris.

Will Anthony Edwards start for Team USA during the Paris Olympics?

“I’m still the number one option.” During an interview earlier this month, Edwards made it clear where he sees himself on this stacked Team USA squad. But Kerr certainly doesn’t seem to agree with Edwards, at least that’s what it looks like so far. However, things might change once Team USA begins playing in Paris, as that’s exactly how it played out during the FIBA World Cup last year.

Even during that campaign, Steve Kerr was in the head coaching position and he initially planned for Ant-Man to come off the bench. Sure enough, Edwards was not happy with that role even then, “I mean, of course I wasn’t cool with it. If that’s what it takes, I mean, I am willing to do it, but nah, I’m never cool with that.”

However, the Wolves star agreed with the coach’s decision, but Kerr soon admitted, “He’s unquestionably the guy. You can see he knows it. But now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it.” And Anthony Edwards did, in fact, turn out to be the best player on the roster as he averaged 18.9 points along with over 4 rebounds in that tournament.

Keeping that in mind, Kerr might consider upgrading Ant-Man’s role once again as they begin their gold pursuit in Paris. More so because of how Team USA performed against South Sudan, which will make the head coach assess where things went wrong. “A good reminder that when we play against teams, it’s the biggest game of their lives. We have to expect everyone to play like that.” Kerr said during the postgame presser, realizing the mistake he made today.

As of now, Team USA has one more Showcase game left against Germany before the Paris Olympics begins, and maybe we will finally see Anthony Edwards in the center during tip-off this time.