Heading into the Olympics, there were various questions surrounding Team USA and whether or not the squad was good enough to go out and win the gold medal. After losing to Nigeria and Australia in the pre-tournament games, there was some chatter that the roster simply wasn’t up to standard. Of course, this is the only team in the Olympics where every single player is in the NBA, which means this squad should have a massive advantage over all of the other countries.
Today, Team USA faced off against France in the team’s first official game of the Olympics. There were a ton of expectations coming into the match and when it came to the oddsmakers, Team USA was -600 favorites. Needless to say, everyone expected them to win.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
While the match started out well for the team, Kevin Durant ran into foul trouble and was even fouled out in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, France pounced on their opportunities and went on a 16-2 run to finish off the game. This allowed France to steal the victory and give Team USA its first Olympics loss since 2004.
As you can see in the clip below, Team USA’s shooters went missing all throughout the fourth quarter, and it led to some embarrassing basketball.
Following Team USA’s loss, the reactions on social media were quite strong as fans were disappointed by the squad’s showing. It has become painfully obvious that this team lacks chemistry and basketball IQ. If they can’t get it together soon, this team could very well find itself without a medal on the plane home from the games.
You can see what people had to say about it all, in the tweets below.