The US men’s basketball team overcame a major setback Saturday during one of its final warmups for the Olympics, overcoming a 14-point halftime deficit against South Sudan.
Eight days before their season opener at the Olympic Games in Paris, players like LeBron James and Steph Curry were pushed to their limits in a dramatic 101-100 victory over the world’s 33rd-ranked team in London.
South Sudan, which has only two players with NBA experience in Carlik Jones and Wenyen Gabriel, even took the lead in the final 20 seconds against a team loaded with the league’s biggest stars.
However, with eight seconds left on the clock, LeBron showed why he is considered by some to be the greatest player of all time, making a game-winning layup near the end that saved the USA from defeat by the Lakers icon.
LeBron was one of the few players who left the game with his head held high, after scoring 23 points and grabbing six rebounds.
LeBron James and the US overcame a major shock against South Sudan on Saturday night
This narrow victory is another big wake-up call for the US on the eve of this summer’s Olympic Games, with their first group match against Serbia next Sunday.
Earlier this month, DailyMail.com revealed that insiders fear USA Basketball’s quest for another gold medal in Paris could be thwarted by “ego and other nonsense***”.
Team USA has won gold at all four Olympic Games since 1988, and at all but one. But preparations for this summer have not gone smoothly.
Despite having a star-studded lineup that includes Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, as well as all-time great LeBron, Steve Kerr’s men were once again left feeling the pinch against Australia on Monday.
After that poor performance and doubts about team harmony, they recovered by beating Serbia on Wednesday, but on Saturday they took two steps back with a narrow victory over South Sudan.
These recent problems have led to concerns that the US could face a “humiliation” in Paris, with players accused of thinking only of themselves rather than the team.
South Sudan, ranked the 33rd best team in the world, took the lead with 20 seconds left
But LeBron followed that up by making the winning layup with eight seconds left
The dire situation was another wake-up call for the US, eight days before its opening Olympic match
‘They will never recover if they lose, they are supposed to be the best in the world so act like it and don’t let ego and other nonsense get the better of what should be automatic,’ a source told DailyMail.com
‘But given their recent play, even though they have won the practice matches, it is still suspicious and worrying that they are not dominating.
“It leaves a lot of people on the USA Basketball team, the coaches and the people who put the team together, like Grant Hill, with a lot of worry that they can’t do the job and they’re going to lose, and that would be incredibly frustrating.
‘The ego that is in the team, everyone is out for themselves and not for the team as a whole. That can and will be a disaster if they don’t all change their thought process, they have to play as a team.
“They didn’t look good and were exposed, while many international teams that have been playing together for a long time are closer and have a reasonable chance of beating the American team.”