Team USA Wraps Up Pre-Olympic Warm-Up With Tight Win Over Germany

Team USA Olympics sought to come out aggressively against 2023 FIBA World Cup champions Germany in London, having almost suffered an upset against South Sudan just two days prior, and finished their final game before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a tight 92-88 win.

After LeBron James got off to a formidable start, opening the contest with a reverse slam and setting the tone early, it looked as though the Americans were going to be in full control of the game.

However, Team USA haven’t sailed to wins smoothly throughout their pre-Olympics warm-up games, and tonight’s contest was no different, though there were many plays to showcase in highlight reels which is in true exhibition-game style.

Despite going into half-time leading 48-39, Germany came out swinging in the third quarter, rallying back to outscore the USA by 10 points, claiming their first lead since the middle of the first quarter, and USA’s unbeaten stretch was in jeopardy once again, with the Germans taking a one point lead into the fourth quarter.

But, when they seemed all down and out, 39-year-old James once again came to the rescue and put the team wholly on his back, scoring the USA’s last 11 points to seal the victory, and ensure that they finish their Olympic warm-up games undefeated, 5-0, putting them in good stead to push on forward in the following games to come, where the results really matter.

All Rise for King James (Again)

Scored Team USA’s last 11 points on his way to a team-high 20-point outing

Once again, LeBron James has made his case for still being one of the best players in the NBA , and the world, despite being set to turn 40-years-old in December, and his ability to take over games at will and in the clutch is, at times, utterly bewildering.

Despite an early slam to kick things off in front of an O2 Arena record-breaking crowd for a basketball game with 19,177 fans in attendance, James had a relatively quiet evening until the final quarter, at least on scoring. Though he made his presence known on the defensive end of the ball with his only block of the game – on former L.A. Lakers teammate Dennis Schroder no less – which, in turn, led to a Stephen Curry three-pointer, his only long-range make of the contest.

But on a night in which his star-studded teammates around him once again struggled with shooting, especially from deep, making only six of their 17 three-point attempts combined, James went 2-for-2 from distance, while he also shot 8-for-11 from the field for a game-high 72.7 percent, and showing that age really is just a number.

Taking over the reins and carrying the load of his team on his back doesn’t come as anything new to James, though, he’s practically done it his entire career. But, that doesn’t mean his teammates take it for granted. In fact, they are more inspired and motivated than ever, according to Curry.

Embiid Flashes of Brilliance Re-Paid Kerr’s Trust in Him

Kerr has named Embiid as his starting big in Paris over Davis, Adebayo

While James earned all the plaudits, and deservedly so, Joel Embiid had one of his best all-around games in a USA uniform so far, which saw him finish the game with the highest efficiency among his teammates with 29.

On a 15 point, eight rebound, five assist night, in which he shot 62.5 percent from the field and made the most of the reduced-sized three-point line in the international game, sinking his lone long-range attempt, the former MVP also made a stellar highlight play which got the crowd roaring and up on its feet.

After being fed a dime by Anthony Edwards , resulting in a flush, he immediately tracked back on defense and rose up to meet Isaac Bonga at the rim for the block, which then led to an emphatic slam by Edwards on the opposite end of the floor.

The problem Team USA have – albeit a good problem to have – is that head coach Steve Kerr and his staff have a borderline overload of talent, and knowing how to utilize them to play elite-level basketball is proving a tough challenge.

However, Kerr has stood pat on Embiid being the starter, edging out Anthony Davis , and defensive player of the year finalist Bam Adebayo , who he prefers to come off the bench, having been a seamless fit together as a one-two punch duo.

But Embiid played like a former MVP tonight, and his sheer 7-foot frame alone is enough to instill fear into any opposition, because once he’s able to get going, especially when inside the paint, there is little anybody can do to stop him.

Germany’s World Cup Win Was No Fluke

Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst had standout nights

Having defeated Team USA in their last competitive meeting in the semifinal of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, there were some questions coming into tonight’s game about whether they could compete with the United States’ big guns, with them effectively putting out a B-team in last year’s campaign.

However, despite their overall shooting struggles in which they were only able to convert on 35.8 percent of their field goal attempts, they tested their opponents right up until the end, and the final result simply came down to the efforts of James, who proved to be just too much to contain.

Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic was Germany’s top scorer, with 19 points on 6-for-14 from the field, while he also had seven rebounds, four assists and a game-high three steals.

But it was Bayern Munich ’s Andreas Obst, who last year in their World Cup campaign had some calling him the ‘German Steph Curry’, who made the biggest imprint, going off for 17 points in his first outing against his basketball hero and ‘role model’, outperforming Curry on the night by going five-for-11 from three-point range, and the two exchanged words about each other after the game.

For 28-year-old Obst, he spoke of how it was a “special day for him” and the occasion made him “highly motivated” to play well, with which he did.

For the NBA’s leading three-point scorer, he couldn’t have praised the German any higher, and even sent a warning off that he is not a player that can be left unguarded at any point in a game due to his ability to be able to hurt defenses with his quick shot release.

All in all, it was a very competitive match-up, with each team playing as if they had a point to prove, and putting on a show for the record-breaking crowd in London.

Perhaps the only dampener on the evening was that Kevin Durant did not feature once again, putting his availability for Team USA’s first Group C game against Serbia in Lille, France, in serious doubt.

As for Germany, they begin their own Olympic gold medal bid against Japan in Group B, and should the two sides meet once again at some stage in the knockout rounds, one can expect another closely-fought contest between two very strong nations.

All statistics courtesy of USA Basketball.

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