It was unthinkable that a team full of National Basketball Association (NBA) stars could lose to an unheralded African side, but coach Steve Kerr has warned that anything is possible if they do not play at their best.
South Sudan’s basketball team nearly delivered a stunning upset to a United States line-up of big-name players on July 20, before narrowly losing 101-100 in a Paris Olympics warm-up game in London.
LeBron James, 39 and the all-time NBA scoring leader, registered a game-high 25 points for the Americans which included the deciding points on a driving layup with eight seconds remaining at the O2 Arena.
Their East African opponents, who led 58-44 at half-time, took a late lead after an 8-0 scoring run and were poised to pull off one of the greatest shocks in international basketball before the Los Angeles Lakers star saved the day.
“The ending was good for us – just to feel that, to feel what it’s going to feel like in Paris,” Kerr said.
“Good experience for us. Good reminder that when we play against teams like that, it’s the biggest experience of their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that.
“If we don’t play the right way and don’t come with the right energy and focus, we can be beat, no matter who we play. But we have that gear and if we can find it, we can overwhelm teams. It was a great reminder of two things – that, and if we don’t play our best, we can get beat.”J.T. Thor, who has played for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets for the past three seasons, sank a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to put South Sudan into a 100-99 lead.
After James made the winning shot, the Africans had one final possession but Carlik Jones missed a jumper with six seconds left and Wenyen Gabriel missed on two put-back attempts before the final buzzer.
“South Sudan was amazing,” Kerr added. “I did not do a great job of preparing my team. We did not focus enough on what they are capable of and that’s on me.
“I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early. Once we turned it up in the second half, they had already knocked down a bunch of threes and were feeling really good about themselves.”
Besides his winning basket, James also sparked a 23-5 US run from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth.
“We have to continue to take a step forward,” said the two-time Olympic champion and four-time NBA champion.
“A lot of these teams that we’re playing have been practising either one month or months in advance and we have maybe just two weeks together. So every game, every film session, we get an opportunity. We have to try to make the most of it, not taking any steps back.”
Cameroon-born Joel Embiid, who became a US citizen in 2022, added 14 points and seven rebounds for the US, while Anthony Davis came off the bench to produce 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“We’re not 100 per cent together, as we saw tonight. But it’s like I said, everything is controllable,” Davis said.
For South Sudan, ranked 33rd in the world, Marial Shayok scored 24 points, Jones added 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and Thor had 14 points off the bench.
Shayok plays in China and briefly played alongside Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers while Jones plays for perennial Serbian power Partizan.
The Americans will face South Sudan again in the Olympics group stage on July 31 at Lille.
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