Team USA flirts with shame against mighty Serbia who don’t bow to the American star squad until the final stage

After last year’s World Cup debacle, when the United States couldn’t even make it to the podium, NBA stars put their heads together. The plan: connect the dots at the Olympics.

So there is no second decoration in Paris, no: this USA team is a great team. Only: the best player in the world is not American, but Serbian. And anyone who follows basketball knows that you are never done with Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

The USA and Serbia had already met in the group stage and Jokic had already shown his abilities: in the minutes when the three-time NBA MVP was on the court, the score was completely even. The USA team made the difference in the minutes when Jokic was on the bench.

This time all his teammates were also present at the meeting, which led to an exciting first half, in which the American stars themselves were stars. Despite the presence of the unparalleled Stephen Curry, who was present for the first time in these games, Serbia was the master and master.

Jokic and Co. had a maximum lead of at least 17 points and went into the locker room with an 11-point lead. They held that advantage deep into the final stretch, but then Team USA came out on top.

Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and even the helpful Joel Embiid dragged the Americans to a nerve-wracking finish: 95-91, after one of the best basketball games in Olympic history.

Serbia could compete with Germany for the bronze medal, a repeat of last year’s World Cup final, when the Germans won the world title for the first time. The Olympic final between the United States and France is a repeat of the Tokyo 2020 final, where Team USA is of course the defending champion.