A 5-0 record never felt so iffy.
Team USA came back from down 16 to defeat South Sudan by one, then coughed up an early 10-point lead in a narrow, 92-88 victory over Germany in the showcase finale Monday afternoon. The soon-to-be 40-year-old LeBron James saved the day in both instances: a driving, game-winning layup to avert crisis vs. South Sudan, then 11 points in the final 7:33 to once again lead the USA to victory.
And what could have easily been a disappointing 3-2 record in the exhibition games leading into the 2024 Paris Olympics is now erased under the guise of basketball perfection.
To the naked, untrained eye, the unscathed Team USA — after emerging victorious over three basketball world powerhouses in Canada (86-72), Serbia (105-79) and now Germany — is on pace for yet another gold medal.
Team USA, however, still has kinks to work out. They will be tested out of the gate in the group stage, facing Serbia — this time potentially with aggressive scorer Bogdan Bogdanovic, who missed the 26-point loss in exhibition play — on July 28. Three days later, they’ll play South Sudan once again, the same team that nearly stole a statement victory over Team USA.
Team USA will end its group stage play with a lopsided matchup against Puerto Rico on Aug. 3. The top-two teams in each of the three groups will automatically advance to the quarterfinals, where knockout rules for teams in pursuit of Olympic gold.
Which means the pressure is on for the Americans, who have shown themselves both susceptible to opposing runs and capable of erasing an opponent’s lead in seconds.
From this point on, the losses will count. It only takes one bad loss to go home in the group stage, though the two-best third-place teams will also advance to the quarterfinals.
SURVIVAL IN THE FINALE
James led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and two-of-two shooting from three-point range to go with six rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.
Even at the age of 39, the Los Angeles Lakers’ star still wields the physical gifts to dominate a game, shrugging his opponents off his shoulder on drives to the rim with the same ease he uses in his and-one celebration.
On the same day James was announced as the first Team USA flag bearer in men’s basketball history, he took over a game down the stretch, as we’ve seen him do countless times over a storied NBA career.
But can he do it again at the Olympic level? And who will step up in the event The King falls short?
Kevin Durant has missed all five Team USA showcase games due to a calf injury and his status is uncertain for Sunday vs. Serbia. Anthony Edwards, the self-proclaimed No. 1 option, scored 11 off the bench on 50% shooting. Stephen Curry had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, and Devin Booker only had five points on five attempts from the field.
THE JOEL EMBIID PARADOX
Joel Embiid finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his best game of his Olympic debut, but Team USA was frequently caught playing drop defensive coverage against Germany’s five-out offensive spread.
International basketball is predicating on spacing and taking advantage of mismatches, and luckily for the Americans, the pair of German bigs Daniel Theis and Johannes Voigtmann combined to shoot just two-of-nine from deep on Monday afternoon.
The combination of Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo at the four and five off the bench gives Team USA much more versatility on both ends of the floor, but after winning the Embiid sweepstakes to prevent the Philadelphia 76ers big man from representing France in the Olympics, it’s clear the burly seven-footer is a tentpole in the USA Basketball operation.
Will Team USA turn to Davis and Adebayo with a game on the line?
KAWHI LEONARD INJURY REPLACEMENT
USA Basketball replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White, drawing ire from his Boston Celtics’ teammate Jaylen Brown, and White shot 0-of-2 in 14 minutes off the bench against Germany. He shot 0-of-1 in nine minutes in his debut against Serbia, and 0-of-1 again — but with five assists — in the one-point victory over South Sudan.
On one possession against Germany, a broken possession resulted with the ball in White’s hands and the shot clock winding down, and he took two dribbles towards the foul line then turned the ball over.
The decision to replace Leonard with White will also be viewed as the decision to snub Brown, who believes his omission from the USA Basketball roster had political ties to Team USA’s partnership with Nike. Brown has been a sneaker free agent since his deal with Adidas expired in 2021 and believes Nike is responsible for him missing the 2024 Paris Olympics.
