If this is the end of Team USA’s golden era, we now know who’s got next

PARIS — Victor Wembanyama sat on the bench, tears streaming, and watched the best men’s basketball team in the world celebrate again. Wembanyama, the 20-year-old budding superstar from France, had wept for a good 10 minutes by then. Still, he observed every punishing second. With wet cheeks, he had made it through shaking hands with the U.S. squad, through huddling with his French teammates and through showing appreciation to the home crowd. The 7-foot-4 phenom did everything he could to deliver an Olympic gold medal, and so did a spirited French audience, which turned a basketball game into a drum-banging, tricolor-flag-waving, raucous spectacle. As a stirring night ended, Wembanyama looked on as if searching for the missing ingredient. But in his agony, we received an even deeper look at basketball’s future. If it already means that much to this kid, there is far more substance to the hype than we realized. And after his stellar rookie NBA season, we were plenty amazed by the depth of his talent. As Wembanyama takes in those hard lessons, his development will enrich and complicate the fiercest rivalry in men’s international basketball. For the second straight Olympics, the United States had to go through France in the championship game. “I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years,” Wembanyama said. Advertisement When asked whether he was talking about the NBA or FIBA, he said, “Everywhere.” There have always been fleeting challengers. Argentina, in its golden era with Manu Ginóbili, was dangerous for a time. Spain, with the Gasol brothers and a host of NBA talent, lost thrilling gold medal games to the Americans in 2008 and 2012. Serbia has pushed Team USA, and in the semifinal of this tournament, it forced the Americans to pull off perhaps the most memorable fourth-quarter comeback in program history. But with James, Durant and Curry leading one of the most legendary Team USA rosters over, an upset wasn’t going to happen. James, 39, just enjoyed the ultimate Olympic basketball walk-off moment with his MVP performance. Durant, 35, must tussle with time if he wants to return and attempt to win a fifth gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028. Curry, 36, finally was able to play in his first Olympics. He closed it as only Curry can, finishing with 60 points over the final two games, including a team-high 24 on eight three-pointers against France. By then, Wembanyama could be the best player in the NBA — or at least a perennial MVP candidate. As Nikola Jokic proved for Serbia, a superstar with longevity on the national team can pose a huge threat to Team USA, even though no one can match the Americans’ depth. As James comes closer to retirement, the face of the NBA isn’t guaranteed to be American anymore. With a little player development, it also seems France will have better depth moving forward. A pair of 20-year-olds, Wembayama and Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly, made this Olympic team. In the June NBA draft, the top two picks — and three of the first six players selected — were French. In 2025, there is a 6-foot-5 French point guard named Nolan Traoré garnering lottery-pick buzz. There are a few other players, including guard/forward Noah Penda and combo forward Noa Essengue, on the NBA’s radar. Established veterans such as Isaïa Cordinier, Guerschon Yabusele and Frank Ntilikina are still in their 20s and available to help Wembanyama anchor the team. Wemby was emotional after the semifinal victory over Germany, saying of the gold medal matchup, “It’s a chance to write history.” Lebron James and Steph Curry lead the U.S. men’s basketball team to a gold medal over France on Aug. 11 in Pars. He hit four three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, ending every France threat with a flair that we hadn’t seen from him at the Olympics. He clasped his hands next to his head to tell the French crowd, “Night, night.” He went to sleep wearing gold. Advertisement “You just simply marvel at his talent,” James said of Curry. Said U.S. Coach Steve Kerr: “This is storybook stuff, but that’s what Steph does. He likes to be in storybooks.” So do Durant and James, the latter of whom turned reflective. “It means everything,” said James, who finished with 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while earning the third gold medal of his career. “I don’t know how many games I’m going to play, how many more big moments, so to have my family here means everything to me.” Wembanayma scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds, teaming with Yabusele (20 points) to account for more than half of France’s points. “This is the second time I have got silver, and I am getting tired of it,” said Yabusele, whose exploits included dunking on James, who tried unsuccessfully to take a charge. “I need to get a gold, and I think next time is going to be a good time for us to get the gold.” Advertisement Next time, huh? Next time, the Olympics will be on America soil. Next time, Curry, Durant and James probably won’t play. Next time, Wemby will be an even bigger star. “I will be going for gold in four years’ time,” Wembanyama said. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/08/10/team-usa-mens-basketball-gold-medal-wembanyama/