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Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Writer
PARIS — The original and the sequel were classics — with high drama and stars taking hero turns in the final act. But just wait for the possible trilogy in Hollywood.
Three summers ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Kevin Durant had 29 points in a masterful gold medal game performance to hold off France in a five-point win to bring the gold back to the home of basketball in the U.S.
On Saturday night, inside France’s national arena with the teams separated by three points in the fourth quarter, Steph Curry added to his legacy with a clutch 3-point shooting display that launched a thousand French tears and earned the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer another dazzling line on his resume.
Now, in the shift to American soil as LA28 comes into focus, so too does the reality that Team France and Team USA are in an escalating rivalry that has no end in sight.
“The U.S. is still the best team in the world but we’re getting closer and closer,” said Nicolas Batum Saturday night after his final game as a player for France. “We respect them, but we’re not scared of them. We’ll just go out there and try to beat them.”
Since 2004, Team USA is 36-1 at the Olympics. The lone loss was to France in Tokyo in pool play. They’ve since come back to win the next two meetings, the ones with the enormous stakes, and forced the French to trudge away with silver medals. But French basketball is unquestionably on the rise and four years from now the challenge for the U.S. could only be greater.
In the 2023 and ’24 drafts, five French players were taken in the lottery by NBA teams. It of course includes two straight No. 1 overall picks, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher.
In June, big man Alex Sarr went No. 2 for a French double to open the draft. And next year, ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony is projecting young French guard Nolan Traore to be yet another lottery pick for Team France to develop.
“To be honest, (in the title game) I was expecting more and again has shown me that we could (beat the U.S.), but you have to do the perfect game we didn’t do it, that’s all,” said Vincent Collet, who has been France’s national team coach for the past 15 years. “But I really think with a little bit more we could really push them much more. OK, we didn’t. But we were not too far. I’m sure we could do better … They dominate because they have real margin with individual talent.”
Collet is known for his bluntness. His statements are empirically true, but he stopped short of saying what is just under the surface — that the American margin with individual talent is under threat.
This is where Wembanyama, once again, steps into the spotlight. Overall, he didn’t have a dominant showing at the Paris games. In fact, for a month he was part of an underwhelming showing for France as the team nearly cracked apart facing the huge pressure of delivering at home.
But over the last week, Wembanyama showed why he’s one of the most tantalizing players in the world.
His performance in the gold medal game was inspiring, showing no signs of fear. He scored a game-high 26 points, added seven rebounds and, as is his nature, gave the U.S. all kinds of problems with his length and ability to move on defense.
Team USA’s best players in this cycle were the legends with Durant, Curry and Olympics MVP LeBron James carrying America to the gold in their mid-to-late 30s. France’s best player is 20, with burning desire.
The Americans have some excellent young talent too. This summer, Anthony Edwards took another step as one of the program’s next great players. Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis both have two gold medals and made it clear being back in Los Angeles in 2028 is an option. Tyrese Haliburton was slowed in the Olympics by a minor leg injury — Team USA didn’t announce it but he had an MRI, sources said — and was caught in a numbers and rotation game, but has a future with the program. There is also Ja Morant, a forgotten option with his struggles the last two years but another potential national team member.
At Team USA training camp, there was the promise of possible 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who could also become a factor in four years.
USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill is expected to stay on with the program and lead the team through the 2027 World Cup in Qatar — the U.S. hasn’t medaled in that event since 2014 — and the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. But there will likely need to be a new coach.
Steve Kerr added a gold medal as head coach to his four rings as head coach of the Golden State Warriors and his five NBA championships as a player. He joked about retiring as national team coach Saturday night and a final decision hasn’t been announced, but it’s probably headed in that direction. This year’s lead assistant coaches, Erik Spoelstra and Ty Lue, are the top candidates to take over.
All of that is business for the future, and there’s predictable uncertainty. But one thing that is certain is Team USA will see the French, and especially Wembanyama, again, and there will, again, probably be gold on the line.
“Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but what’s for sure is we’re growing. Basketball is growing here,” Wembanyama said. “Nobody is going to take (this experience) from me. I’m learning and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple years.”