PARIS– THE 2024 Olympicsmen’s basketball tournament ends with the USA face hosts France in a clash at Bercy Arena.
Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBronJames will lead the team seeking its fifth consecutive gold medal and 17th overall.
France will be the “home” of the two basketball gold medal games – the men’s, on Saturday night, and the women’s, on Sunday afternoon, always against the USA.
Home teams are coming in 5-2 tonight when they play for basketball gold at home.
The U.S. men and women each won in 1984 and 1996, taking the titles in Los Angeles and Atlanta. The Soviet Union women’s team won in Moscow in 1980.
Australian women lost to the USA in Sydney in 2000, and Japan’s women also lost to the USA at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Jrue Holiday was part of the United States men’s basketball team that won gold in Tokyo three years ago. He has a chance to win a second basketball gold coming up.
This would put him tied for the home lead.
Holiday’s wife is Lauren Cheney Holiday, a two-time U.S. women’s soccer gold medalist. She won gold in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012.
Jrue Holiday will win his second Olympic medal in Paris on Saturday night, whether gold or silver. But he needs gold to tie his wife’s mark.
“First of all, it means I can sit at the table with my wife, so that would be cool,” Jrue Holiday said. “It’s just an honor and a blessing. I was there to watch her compete in 2012, and after she was here for this one, it was amazing to be able to share that with my family.”
If history is any guide, the men’s basketball gold medal game between the U.S. and France may not be very close.
There have only been two Olympic men’s basketball finals in history decided by five points or less: the Soviet Union’s highly controversial 51-50 victory over the USA in 1972 and the Americans’ 87-82 victory over France at the Tokyo Games. three years ago.
The average margin of victory in all other men’s Olympic gold medal games: 19.6 points.
Comedian Jimmy Fallon has a few seats waiting for him. Scottie Pippen, who played on two “Dream Teams” for the USA in 1992 and 1996, and Carmelo Anthony also have seats named after them.
Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are excited to see the U.S. women win soccer gold along with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. Only Bird, who won five Olympic gold medals, and Rapinoe have seats marked with their names.
An hour before kickoff, there was a wide array of NBA and Olympic jerseys in the stands, with fans representing LeBron James, Scottie Pippen, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Tony Parker and Victor Wembanyama.
The first three people on the court for the Olympic gold medal game were U.S. assistant coaches Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue and Mark Few.
There are strict rules about players not being allowed onto the court until exactly 60 minutes before kick-off. The first players to get there were LeBron James (who started with a dunk) for the USA and Victor Wembanyama to France.
And let’s just say LeBron’s shoes will be on-trend – a metallic green, glistening in the light.
France is set for a big weekend of basketball to cap the Paris Olympics, with both the men’s and women’s teams competing for gold medals. And they are playing against the Americans.
The French teams will not lack support.
Whenever French teams have played – whether in Lille during the snooker game or now in Paris at the Bercy Arena – the fans have not been shy about showing up and showing off.
American striker Breanna Stewart is concerned about the environment.
“In the same way that fans continue to support their countries and come to France,” Stewart said, “… we hope that some from the United States will come. They are speaking loudly and making an impact on women’s sport.”
Read more about France x USA games this weekend
Some fans are entering Bercy Arena for the men’s basketball final, including some Americans waving red, white and blue flags.
On that front, they are outnumbered.
France – with its blue, white and red tricolor flag – obviously has the same color scheme, and well over 1,000 portable flags were distributed in a seating area behind one of the baskets in the men’s gold medal game.
Meanwhile, French basketball legend Tony Parker will be part of the pre-game ceremony, adding even more style to the pre-game festivities.
Jayson Tatum did not play in two of the USA’s five games in the Paris Olympics, survived the two games against Serbia.
And, once again, American coach Steve Kerr said that this is not an accusation against Tatum.
“It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson. That’s what I saw from the other guys,” Kerr said. “As I’ve said many times during this tournament and over the last six weeks, it’s hard to play against 11 people, even in an NBA game.”
Read more at Kerr’s lineup decisions and the balanced attack of the Americans
They gave Kevin Durant the game ball after breaking Lisa Leslie’s U.S. Olympic basketball scoring record in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games. And of course, he received many congratulations from his biggest fan.
That fan – Wanda Durant, his mother – wasn’t surprised by how her son reacted to her words. For her, it was a big deal.
For his son, the album is just something that happened. He has a fourth Olympic gold in mind and that is his motivation at the moment.
Read more at Kevin and Wanda Durant
Blood stained her cleavage Victor Wembanyama shirt after France secured a place in the gold medal game at Paris Olympics, courtesy of a new cut on the left side of the neck. He sweated a lot during the game and held back tears when it was all over.
Blood, sweat and tears. How appropriate.
“In our national anthem we talk about blood,” said Wembanyama. “We are willing to spill blood on the court. So, no big deal. If you allow us to make gold, I’m offering it. Take all of this.
Wembanyama – NBA Rookie of the Year, No. 1 draft pick, already an international phenomenon – has a new award. He is an Olympic medalist. The only question is whether he will be gold or silver, something that will be determined on Saturday night, in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games.
Read more about Victor Wembanyama’s performance at the Olympics
French fans have booed Joel Embiid at every Olympics – no matter who the US faces.
It all stems from his decision to play for the USA and not France, which granted him naturalized citizenship status in 2022, even though he never lived there.
The boobirds will almost certainly come out in full force as France takes on the US for gold.
Read more about What does Embiid think? of the boos
After the USA and France play for gold in men’s basketball, the same countries are in the women’s final on Sunday.
The USA has won 60 consecutive games at the Olympics, a sequence that dates back to 1992 in Barcelona.
A victory would Diana Taurasi her sixth consecutive gold medal, making her the most decorated basketball player in Olympic history, tying her with longtime teammate Sue Bird, who won five.
Read more about second USA-France basketball final in Paris
The men’s basketball final at the Paris Olympics is a rematch of the gold medal game in Tokyo three years ago.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points to join Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men’s gold medalists in Olympic history, Jayson Tatum added 19 and the U.S. defeated France 87-82.
Nikola Jokic had the fifth triple-double in Olympic history, and Serbia beat Germany 93-83 to win the bronze medal in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics.
Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP with the Denver Nuggets, finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to help Serbia win its first medal since winning silver in Rio in 2016.
Serbia bounced back after almost defeating four-time gold medalists USA in the semi-finals.
Read more about Serbia’s victory about Germany
The men’s basketball tournament ends with the USA face hosts France in a clash at Bercy Arena.
The US men rallied to beat Serbia 95-91 in a convincing semi-final. Stephen Curry had 36 points.
Now Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBronJames will lead the team seeking its fifth consecutive gold medal and 17th overall.
The French, led by the phenomenon Victor WembanyamaThey are seeking their first gold after settling for silver in the 1948, 2000 and 2020 Olympics, losing the final to the Americans in each of those tournaments. France defeated Germany, World Cup champion 73-69 to advance to Saturday’s final.
The game, a rematch of the final in Tokyo three years ago, is scheduled to start at 9:30pm CEST/3:30pm EDT.
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