USA Basketball narrowly avoided disaster on Thursday after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to squeak past Nikola Jokic and Serbia. Team USA trailed by 13 entering the final period, and that’s when LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant — USA’s elder statesmen — took over and cemented the team’s place in the gold medal game against host country France.
France earned their place in the final by defeating Germany in the semis. Victor Wembanyama, the rookie phenom from the San Antonio Spurs, has been the leader for France, but they have plenty of other NBA talent in Nic Batum, Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Frank Ntilikina and more. Given the United States’ difficulty with Serbia, France cannot be taken lightly.
James doesn’t appear to be doing that, as he knows what France can bring to the table, especially now that Wembanyama is in the mix. The Los Angeles Lakers star is looking ahead to a great matchup with the host team, via BasketNews:
“Super competitive,” LeBron said about the French national team. “You know, they’ve been playing together for a while. Obviously, this is Wemby’s first Olympics but that team’s been playing together for quite a while. They’ve been feeding off the crowd, so we’re looking forward to that matchup.”
Team USA is undoubtedly favored to defeat France and secure their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. But they have already had some scary moments along the way, through both exhibition matches and in the games themselves. Team USA is going to need to give their most focused effort to ensure a win and a medal for their nation.
James is one of a couple players who are entering perhaps their final Olympic game. It’s unlikely that he, Durant or Curry will play in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. So for the big three of Team USA, this game carries with it some extra special weight.
LeBron James understands he doesn’t have many big games left
LeBron James spoke about what has been the best part of moments like Thursday’s win against Serbia, knowing that his time playing competitive basketball has become extremely limited. He understands that he doesn’t have many big games left in his career, so he’s learned to enjoy each and every one of them. He qualified the comeback against Serbia as one of those massive moments and he’s glad they were able to secure the win.
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