The United States had a very, very close call against Serbia, who led for almost 38 minutes. But behind the 36 points of Stephen Curry at 9/14 from afar, the 19 points of Joel Embiid and the triple-double of LeBron James (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists), Team USA finally managed to reach the final of the 2024 Olympic Games…
“Perseverance, hard work, dedication. Chef Curry, Joel “Process” Embiid”, LeBron James responds on the reasons for the victory. “It's a huge win, and we knew it was going to be a challenge, we knew it was going to be the toughest game so far. It was a total effort.”
Because Serbia almost played the perfect match, with a zone (that Svestislav Pesic's team had never used against the United States in previous matches) which disrupted the Americans, and a great outside address which allowed Serbia to lead the race throughout the match.
In the last quarter, we saw a particularly angry LeBron James.
“There was no anger, it was just competitiveness, competitive energy, trying to make things as close to perfect as possible. I always try to be aggressive and create for the team, trying to do a little bit of everything on the field. My teammates believe in me.”
The “King” also knows that he is approaching retirement, even if he remains incredibly efficient for his age, and he therefore intends to take advantage of all the high-stakes matches that he can.
“I'm 39, this is my 22nd season. I don't know how many more opportunities or moments I'm going to have, like this one, fighting for something, trying to win something big, playing such important games. And tonight was a particularly important game.” he concludes thus.
