Despite the fact that Team USA conquered a well-deserved gold medal in the past Paris Olympic Games, there were a couple of moments when it seemed as if two European giants could beat them. Serbia and France came close to defeating this incredible collection of NBA talent, until the United States pulled off unbelievable fourth quarter displays.
You could say the the U.S. men’s national team were never really overly impressive even though they did win all of their seven matches, in which two of them were against Nikola Jokic’s squad. The Nuggets star, who earns the NBA’s MVP for a third time, had the Americans agains the ropes in both occasions.
These situations didn’t go unnoticed in the basketball, especially after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson decided to blast Steve Kerr’s squad during a recent episode of All the Smoke Podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. The 85-year-old legend questioned the Warriors coach’s tactics.
Nikola Jokic played a good defensive game vs. Team USA, who looked to put him in almost every two-man action they could. Jokic held up: 4 steals, several deflections in 31 minutes.
Jokic and Serbia did a good job of mostly getting USA to shoot the shots they wanted to give up. pic.twitter.com/w3Qs1lfV8e
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) July 29, 2024
“They don’t slide [their feet]! Jokic made a fool out of USA all because that guard didn’t fight through to get to his man… why am I gonna go inside to play through the 7-foot-4 guy and USA kept doing that and Jokic kept scoring bad. What was the coach doing, [Steve] Kerr?” he asked the panel.
During these Olympic games, the U.S. head tactician considered placing three big men to stop the Denver center. “We cant get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice,” Kerr said as a warning. “Does Jokic play 40 minutes? What else do they have up their sleeve? We have to be prepared for anything.”
Also, the U.S, men’s head coach knew that if he played all of his three All-Star center, they will eventually wear Jokic down. We are talking about Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo. “We know we have the advantage in numbers,” Steve guaranteed.
The retired NBA icon ended his magical career in 1974 after earning 11 All-NBA team notches, winning the MVP Award back in 1964, plus one championship in 1971. Robertson was also the first athlete to average a triple-double over the course of an entire campaign.
Jokic reminded the press this weekend that last time he returned from representing Serbia he earned an NBA title
As Denver played the Celtics in a hard-fought clash during the Abu Dhabi Games this weekend, the big man reminded the press that he returns extra motivated to the NBA after representing his nation during the summer. After earning an Olympic bronze medal in Paris, he recalled what happened last time he played for Serbia.
Last time I played for the national team, we won a championship. Maybe that means something, maybe it doesn’t. Most players say a summer tournament helps you stay in shape. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I had a great time and feel I improved. Whether it affects my current basketball or not, who knows,” said the three-time MVP.
His coach, on the other hand, went onto praise his impact in the game, even though the Nuggets ended up losing this tight-preseason contest against the reigning champs.
“He’s a great player. You marvel at his greatness. He can beat you with his scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and I thought he had some great defensive moments tonight. Both Nikola and Jamal had busy offseasons, so we want to be mindful of his minutes, but overall, he did great,” Malone shared.
