Los Paris 2024 Olympic Games are in their final stretch, especially in basketball. On the men’s side, the four semi-finalists are already known: USA will face Serbia, and France will face Germany, just like in the group stage. As for the locals, Kevin Durant has sent a notice.
For France, the road at the Olympics has not been easy. Although they started with a solid win against Brazil, the French faced unexpected resistance from Japan and then fell to Germany, the reigning world champions. This defeat sparked internal criticism, with Fournier describing their style of play as “old-fashioned” and suggesting that adjustments were needed in both attack and defence to improve their performance.
Despite these setbacks, France found itself in a situation where it had to react quickly ahead of its crucial quarter-final clash against Canada, one of the favourites to win a medal. And it was precisely in this moment of maximum pressure that France showed its true potential.
France made key strategic decisions, such as substituting Rudy Gobert, that allowed the team to adjust its game and dominate the first half of the match against Canada. With a 16-point lead at halftime, France demonstrated its ability to control the pace of the game. Evan Fournier, despite not starting, emerged as a key figure in the fourth quarter, scoring a spectacular three-pointer that sealed the victory for his team.
Kevin Durant’s respect
Kevin Durant, one of Team USA’s standout players, expressed his admiration for France’s ability to overcome their difficulties and perform under pressure. “They played great basketball today. They feed off the crowd. We’re getting extra energy. They had a tough game against Germany.” [en la fase de grupos]”They know it’s very difficult to play against them at the beginning. We’ll see how they do. But now it’s a different game. It’s a different time. So I’m sure they’ll be ready to play,” Durant said, via Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.
