With Team USA entering the quarterfinals portion of the 2024 Paris Olympics, they'll open up their gold medal run against Brazil. However, Team USA superstar LeBron James keeps tabs on everyone, not just Brazil.
Well, unless you're France, that is.
James said he “wasn't very impressed” with Victor Wembanyama and France in their 85-71 loss to Germany in pool play at the Paris Olympics, according to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.
James named Canada and Germany as teams the United States needs to “be ready for” in the tournament's knockout stage, adding that France struggled with the game's physicality against Germany.
“I wasn't very impressed with their last game,” James said. “I didn't think they were ready for the physicality of Germany. Other than that, they were playing some good ball.”
Why has France struggled in the 2024 Olympics?
France went 2-1 in Group B, with the lone loss coming on August 2 against Germany. Only three French players scored in double figures in that loss, with reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama leading the team with 14 points.
Wembanyama added 12 rebounds in that matchup, but the French lost the battle on the boards, 36-29. France also allowed Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder to score 26 points each in the contest. Vincent Collet — France's head coach since 2009 — went straight to the point in assessing his star player's performance.
“He stopped the ball too much,” Collet said. “Against that kind of aggressiveness, you can’t play that way. You are never 1-on-1 because they come to double-team, and there’s no space to operate. It’s important to move the ball.”
The loss was just another example of a French team that has struggled throughout Olympic play. Before the blowout against Germany, France almost lost to Japan. But even before that upset, Wembanyama and France looked incredibly average against Brazil.
While they don't have a full roster of NBA talent like Team USA, France does have NBA players competing for them. Between Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier and Bilal Coulibaly, the talent is there. However, despite this talent, things haven't clicked for the host nation's team — creating some worry about their medal chances.
France will face Canada in the quarterfinals after their 2-1 start in Olympic group play. Meanwhile, James and Team USA are 3-0 entering the knockout round of the Olympics and outscoring opponents 317-253 in the group stage as they pursue a fifth consecutive gold medal. The tournament's knockout stage will begin on August 6, and the gold medal game will occur on August 10.
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