Wembanyama leads rivals hoping to deny James and the US juggernaut
a The strong-performing US team, led by LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Olympic debutant Stephen Curry, would be the heavy favorites to win a fourth consecutive gold medal when the final of the men’s basketball tournament gets underway on the penultimate day of the Games in Bercy. What a surprise, huh?
Just reaching this gold medal match – and winning it – will not be the answer. a fait accompli of recent years. A star-studded roster of rivals, including Serbia (three-time MVP Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Australia (Josh Giddey) and Germany (Dennis Schröder), all have the potential to give the Americans a tough time, especially under Fiba rules. But the biggest challenge will come from France, buoyed by an exuberant home support and a front line that features the 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and the 7-foot-1 Victor Wembanyama, perhaps the most promising young player since James entered the pro ranks more than two decades ago.
The 20-year-old with an 8-foot wingspan and the agility of much smaller players, who was already being called a “once-in-a-millennium” talent before he entered the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs last year and won rookie of the year in a rare unanimous vote, will be one of the poster boys for the French Olympic team and the star attraction of a group that is not there to boost the numbers. Under the steady hand of Vincent Collet, who also coached Wembanyama when he played for Metropolitans 92 in the French top flight, The Blues are an athletic team that has come close in recent years at major tournaments, including Tokyo, where they handed Team USA their first Olympic defeat in 17 years. They ultimately suffered a five-point defeat as they went for gold again.
But make no mistake: The Americans are heavily tipped on merit. The roster has the size, scoring prowess, defense and star power to burn. Four of the expected starters – James (four), Curry (two), Durant (one) and Embiid (one) – have won eight NBA MVP awards between them. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo all return from the gold-medal-winning team in Tokyo. Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton have emerged as two of the league’s most promising young stars. All but one of the 12 players were All-Stars this season, while the other, Holiday, was named to the All-Defensive First Team. They’re coached by Steve Kerr, who is no stranger to managing large amounts of individual talent, having led the Golden State Warriors to four NBA titles in his 10-year tenure and served as a bench assistant for Gregg Popovich at the last Olympics.
Leading the way is James, perhaps the biggest star of the 10,500 or so athletes in Paris, who as a teenager was part of the U.S. team that stumbled to bronze at the 2004 Athens Games, which led to a wholesale overhaul of American basketball that made it more attractive for NBA players to compete in the Olympics. Now 39 and seeking a third gold medal, he remains among the world’s best, competing against players who were still in diapers when he was a household name.
Somehow, a much deadlier finale could unfold the next day, when a U.S. women’s team led by Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart is expected to win an eighth straight gold medal on the same floor. Drawing from a talent pool so ridiculously deep that USA Basketball couldn’t even find a roster spot for crossover phenom Caitlin Clark, the U.S. women are perhaps the most dominant team in world sports today, having not lost an Olympic Games since 1992 or any tournament since 2006.