Charles Barkley recently gave his honest thoughts about Team USA's victory over Serbia in the semifinals of the 2024 Olympics. The Americans narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of the Serbians coming out on top 95-91. Throughout the match, Serbia led the USA and it wasn't until late in the fourth quarter that the Americans made their comeback.
Barkley was displeased with Team USA's performance and pointed out how Nikola Jokic nearly singlehandedly defeated the Americans. He explained that Jokic kept running the clock to maintain their lead. Barkley thinks that the game would've turned out differently if the Americans pushed the pace a little bit.
I think they played too slow because you could see what [Jokic] was doing,” Barkley said. “He was milking the clock, he would take the ball out of bounds and roll it up the court. They turned a 40 minute game basically into like a 35 to 37 minute game. So they let them play slow. I think they should have played a lot faster.
Barkley also pointed out that Serbia lacked star power. Compared to Team USA, the only NBA All-Star on their team was Jokic. The next best Serbian player was Bogdan Bogdanovic who is only a role player in the NBA. Given these factors, Barkley believes that the game shouldn't have been close at all with the pool of talent Team USA had.
They got Joker, but the second-best player on their team was Bogdanovic,” Barkley said. “Does Bogdanovic make the United States Olympic team? Under no circumstances does he make the Olympic team.
How did Team USA defeat Serbia in the semifinals?
When it seemed all hope was lost in Team USA's matchup against Serbia, the Americans managed to stage a comeback, narrowly winning 95-91. Much of the credit goes to Stephen Curry, whose outstanding shooting kept the game within reach.
Curry was unstoppable against Serbia on Thursday, scoring 36 points with impressive shooting percentages of 64.3% from beyond the arc and 63.2% overall. We knew Steph was poised for a big game, especially when he traded multiple three-pointers with the Serbians in the first quarter. However, the most crucial shot came in the fourth quarter, one of the nine three-pointers he made, that ultimately sealed the game.
Team USA fought hard throughout the match, only catching up to Serbia late in the fourth quarter. With 2:25 left in the game, LeBron James found Curry open for a three-point bomb, giving the team an 87-86 lead. This clutch shot energized the team, leading to everyone else hitting their shots.
While Curry's performance was essential, he couldn’t have done it without the support of James and Joel Embiid. As usual, James played the role of floor general, facilitating plays, scoring, and dominating the boards, finishing with a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Meanwhile, Embiid delivered significant offensive contributions, scoring 19 points, which complemented Curry's efforts. Curry, Embiid, and James were the only players on Team USA to reach double figures in scoring. Without their combined efforts, the Americans might have lost to Serbia, whose remarkable shooting and playmaking kept them in the lead for much of the game.
Ultimately, the Americans went on to win the gold medal against France and can finally rest easy as world champions despite the controversy about who the MVP should've been for Team USA,
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