USA Basketball men's Olympic team arrives for camp in Las Vegas

There's something that Kobe Bryant once said that has stuck with U.S. men's Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr and seems especially important now.

It was about how other nations have made big strides in basketball, how the gap between the rest of the world and the U.S. is closing and how that's been a great thing for the NBA. And Bryant's response, paraphrased, was basically, "so what?"

His point: If everyone else is getting better, then the U.S. had better find ways to do the same.

"Maybe we'll show that one to the guys," Kerr said. "I love that. And it has to be our attitude this summer."

After months of planning, it's time for the U.S. Olympic team — one that will go to the Paris Games later this month seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal — to take the floor. The first practice for the squad is Saturday, the start of a four-day training camp before its exhibition opener against Canada on Wednesday.

The 12 players have all known each other for years, but the task of becoming a team starts in earnest Saturday.

Players began arriving Thursday in Las Vegas; Stephen Curry was the first to check in for camp, perhaps underscoring how anxious he is for what will be his first Olympics. 

"I feel like it starts when it gets there, because that's when you really see each other eye-to-eye," said Bam Adebayo, who is seeking his second gold medal after winning one at the Tokyo Games three years ago. "You have those conversations, you have those many conversations within what we're going through, what we're trying to do. And that's when it's time to really be honest about what we want to do."

That part is easy: Win gold.

The how-to-do-it part is the key.

Last year brought another humbling World Cup experience for the U.S.; after