Josh Giddey fights back tears after brutal truth bomb hits Australian basketball star following Olympic Games agony: ‘It kills me’
Josh Giddey has admitted the harsh reality of missing out on an Olympic medal has hit him like a truck.
Giddey was unable to lead the Boomers to the semifinals of the men’s basketball tournament in Paris, with Australia losing to Serbia in overtime.
The manner in which they lost will be even more painful. Before Nikola Jokic led the Serbs back into the game, they had a 24-point lead.
And after the buzzer blew, Giddey couldn’t hold back his tears after falling in Paris.
“We put ourselves in a great position to win that game. And we come up so short in overtime. So it’s heartbreaking,” Giddey said.
“And it hurts me that I have to wait four more years for another chance. But man, I’m so proud of this group. I love this team. And you know, our coaches, our fans, they deserved so much better than this.
“I don’t really know how to sum it up right now. It’s so raw and right after the game. But you know, I just love this team. And I believed we had the group to go all the way.
“We have to wait four more years and this feeling sucks and it’s going to hurt, but you know, it’s going to build us up. And we’re going to be back in LA (2028 Olympics).”
Josh Giddey was overcome with emotion after Australia’s defeat in Paris
The Boomers couldn’t hold on to their 24-point lead in their quarter-final against Serbia
Patty Mills, in his final appearance for the Boomers, sent the game into extra time with a dramatic late goal, but overall gave his take on the game in style.
“The Olympics, this is where the best comes out of people, teams, countries. This is why you play for these moments,” Mills told Nine.
“We let everything out on them and it just wasn’t our day. All credit to Serbia. They’re a great team. Great individuals there, great competitors. Their toughness, they played a great game and they hung in there and got over the threshold in the end.
“Man, we had a great time. This trip was fun. We stuck together,” he said.
Giddey admitted that the harsh reality of the Olympic failure has already hit him
“We stayed connected as a group. We talked about stacking days and getting better as a group to move forward. These are the Olympics. The moments you want to be in. And it was fun.”
Giddey said he felt it was his responsibility to give Mills the send-off he deserved.
“He deserved better,” Giddey said. “It was up to us to help him get that gold medal. Whether it’s his last or not, he’s put so much into this program…you talked about FIBA Patty, one of the best to ever do it in these tournaments.”