Paris Olympics: Decoding USA's gold medal campaign in men's basketball
The USA men's basketball team won its fifth straight Olympic gold medal after beating France, 98-87, in the final of the 2024 Paris Games. It was a close game but Stephen Curry made the difference for USA, having scored 24 points at the Bercy Arena. LeBron James contributed with 14 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. Here we decode Team USA's Paris Games campaign.
Dominant start over Serbia
USA, who were placed in Group C, kick-started their campaign with a comfortable 110-84 triumph over Serbia. Anthony Davis made eight rebounds to help the American team. LeBron James made nine assists as USA constantly maintained a solid lead over the Serbian side. Notably, USA dominated all four quarters as the scorings read 20-25, 29-33, 16-26, and 19-26.
Other Wins in league stage
USA in their next assignment recorded a 103-86 win over South Sudan. While Bam Adebayo recorded 10 points and seven rebounds, Davis and James also made seven rebounds. Devin Booker registered six assists. The American unit also got the better of Puerto Rico (83-104). Anthony Edwards (26 points), Jayson Tatum (10 rebounds), and James (8 assists) were the key contributors.
How did the quarter-final and semi-final pan out?
USA met Brazil in the quarter-final and won 122-87. Booker starred with 18 points as Davis contributed with eight rebounds. Extending his stellar run, James made nine assists. The semi-final was a close affair as USA beat Serbia 95-91. Notably, Serbia scored more in the first three rounds but USA bounced back with a 32-15 scoreline in the final round.
Win over France in final
As mentioned, the American unit met hosts France in the final and walked away with a 98-87 triumph. They scored more in the first two rounds (20-15 and 26-29) before France bounced back in the third round (25-23). USA, however, scored more in the fourth round as well (26-21). David made nine rebounds while Curry (24 points) and James (10 assists) were also impressive.
USA dominated these areas
USA were the only team to score with a match average of over 100 points (105.3). Their average rebound of 39.8 per game was the third highest. They also boast the best team average in terms of assists (28). While James recorded 8.5 assists on average, only Serbia's Nikola Jokić (8.7) is ahead of him in this regard.
James was named MVP
James took home the Most Valuable Player award for his all-round contribution. The veteran averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. Curry was the other USA star in the All-Star Five team. Playing in his first Olympics, Curry finished with 14.8 points on 47.8 percent three-point shooting, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
17th gold for USA
This was overall USA's 17th Olympic gold in men's basketball. Their tally also includes two bronze and a solitary silver medal. USA registered their fifth Olympic triumph on the trot as they last missed out on a gold in the 2004 Athens Games. Meanwhile, Soviet Union (2) is the only other unit with multiple top-podium finishes in men's basketball.
