by
Paris
CNN
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The U.S. team’s narrow elimination by Serbia in the semifinals of the men’s Olympic basketball tournament adds new suspense to Saturday’s final against France, which will play with a home-court advantage that has to be heard to be believed.
The U.S. team, so talented it’s hard to fathom, eliminated Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico in the group stage, then crushed Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Having already beaten Serbia twice in recent weeks and looked unbeaten, Team USA expected another victory against the European nation on Thursday. But a spirited Serbian team led by 17 points at one point, forcing the U.S. to rally in the final minutes to keep three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and his teammates safe.
The French team that the United States will face in the final at Bercy Arena on Saturday night will not currently feature a player of Jokić’s caliber—who can say what NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama will become?—but it will have the support of a feverish French crowd, which brings an intensity that many of these NBA stars may not have seen since their college basketball days years ago.
“We expect them to play the game of their lives because they’re going to have the adrenaline of playing at home, they’re on a roll after these last two games,” said Stephen Curry, the future Hall of Famer who had a breakout performance at the Olympics against Serbia. “We have to expect them to play well, but we expect that from ourselves, too.”
Throughout these Games, the French have been in great numbers to mobilize and make their voices heard in support of their athletes. From the rugby sevens final at the Stade de France to Léon Marchand’s epic performances in the La Défense Arena swimming pool, the noise made by the hosts of this tournament has sometimes given the impression of being next to a passenger plane taking off.
At Bercy Arena, it’s the same. While chants and slogans are broadcast throughout the arena, they are led by a section of supporters behind one of the baskets who stand, sing, chant, and drum (yes, there are multiple drummers) throughout the game. This creates an atmosphere that feels more like a European football game than an NBA game, where even during playoff games, the crowd noise is sometimes drowned out by the music or chants broadcast over the PA system.
That noise will likely be even louder in Saturday’s final between the host country and the big favourite, which is made up of an incredible amount of talent.
“This is what you dream about when you’re a kid,” said Rudy Gobert, star of the French and Minnesota Timberwolves. “I remember like it was yesterday dreaming about playing in the finals at home in the Olympics. And now here we are.”
It’s a challenge Team USA is looking forward to as a group of players with multiple NBA championships between them soaks up the Olympic experience.
“This is going to be the most watched game since I’ve been playing in FIBA. I’m looking forward to it, I’m looking forward to the challenge, and we all are,” said Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, the team’s all-time leading scorer.
Durant added: “I love representing my country. We love playing for our country. There’s a lot of crap that goes on in our country too, but there’s a lot of good things that come from where we come from. We love the brotherhood that exists within USAB. [USA Basketball]. We will remember these experiences for the rest of our lives, so we want to make the most of them.
“That’s what everybody wants, right? It’s going to be fun,” Durant’s Suns teammate Devin Booker said of the Finals. “It’s electric out there. Their crowd is electric even when France isn’t playing us, so I can only imagine what it’s going to be like on Saturday.”
But that talent doesn’t always mesh well. While the two teams looked in sync throughout the group stage and against Brazil, there were chemistry issues in the Olympic warm-up games and the match against Serbia. It will be up to head coach Steve Kerr to ensure his collection of superstars conveys the desperation that marked the final quarter of the semi-final rather than the dysfunction that characterised the top three.
“We have to make tomorrow our best defensive game. Our defense has carried us throughout this tournament, that’s what allows us to win a FIBA. [the International Basketball Federation, which plays under different rules than the NBA] “The game was a failure, and the game got away from us last night,” Kerr said Saturday.
“We have to be ready with a better defensive edge, more physicality and we have to be able to play based on our defense.”
