Rio de Janeiro: American men and women’s basketball teams are staying on the cruise ship Silver Cloud at the Rio Olympics, a major step up from their fellow Olympians in the athletes village.
The US men’s collection of millionaire NBA stars arrived by plane on Wednesday, getting a good look at the famed Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the Olympic host city.
“It was so dark and then it was lit up,” said US star Kevin Durant. “It was like Jesus was flying over us. I want to go back and see it up close.”
Then they checked into luxury accommodations on a 196-cabin cruise ship similar to one used by the US team in 2004 at Athens.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Durant. “We’re in a hotel on water.”
US guard Klay Thompson, whom Durant will play alongside next season at Golden State as well as for the next two weeks, likes the balcony views.
“It’s nice. It’s like staying at a hotel,” Thompson said. “We’ve all got our own rooms. We’ve got a game room. I like the balcony. You can get out and see the water and see the scenery of Rio.”
Extra security precautions surround the US squad, the cruise ships being another layer of protection for NBA talent that has proven among the most popular at any Olympics since the 1992 original “Dream Team.”
“It’s good. We live life. Like when you go home, except on a boat,” US guard Kyrie Irving said.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a cruise ship. It’s just a private environment for the USA basketball national team for women’s and men’s, our coaching staff.
“And then we have a cruise ship almost right next to us that has our family and friends. It’s pretty cool for me. I enjoy sitting on my balcony, kind of looking out at the water.”
He and other US stars hope to see some Olympic events. Irving wants to see swimming while forward Carmelo Anthony wants to see the Brazil football squad.
Anthony, seeking a men’s record third gold medal and his fourth overall, likes having a bed long enough to avoid having his feet dangle over the end.
And then there’s Andrew Bogut, who had been Thompson’s teammate at Golden State this past NBA season. He recovered from a serious leg injury to compete for Australia in Rio and is staying with the Boomers in the athletes village.
Bogut, one of six NBA players on the Aussie squad, has been pointing out the troubles in the village on Twitter, single beds and torn shower curtains among the setbacks.
“Putting together a shower curtain so we can shower and not flood the place,” Bogut tweeted with a photo of him working on the curtain.
He has taken to posting dispatches with the hashtag IOCLuxuryLodging to poke at the International Olympic Committee officials and their likely more luxurious digs.
“At IOCLuxuryLodging we believe a bed is not vital for sleep. Fine tuned athletes can sleep standing up,” Bogut tweeted.
“IOCLuxuryLodging will not comment on our delegates penthouse villas in downtown Rio.”
After that stirred the social media pot, Bogut later posted: “People today really struggle with 2 things: Sarcasm and sarcasm,” that fuelled more comments.
