It is very difficult to imagine that the Dream Team, which is a group of bright NBA stars in the world, could… almost lose to a completely unknown team from the Dark Continent!
But veteran coach Steve Kerr has just warned his famous students that the worst things can happen if the American players do not try their best.
The South Sudan basketball team almost created an “earth-shattering” shock when they faced the Dream Team last night, July 20, at The O2 Arena (London – England).
They only lost with a minimum score of 1 point: 100-101, in the match they continuously led in 3/4 rounds (1st, 2nd and 4th rounds). If James hadn’t been so excellent, there would have been consequences.
Now 39 years old, James still shows that he deserves to be the NBA’s all-time scoring king, scoring up to 25 points, including scoring the decisive points when the match was only 8 seconds away. end.
The opponent from East Africa continuously led 26-24 in the first half, 32-20 in the second half (and led 58-44 before halftime), constantly causing difficulties and surprises. for NBA stars.
In the third round, Dream Team tightened their team and won with a huge difference of 37-18. However, in the fourth quarter, they were constantly behind and only took the lead by 1 point thanks to James’ excellent play.
Coach Kerr breathed a sigh of relief after the dramatic 101-100 victory: “The ending was really good for us. Just to feel it, to feel what it would be like to be in Paris.”
“This experience has been very good for us. It’s a nice reminder that when we play teams like that, it’s the biggest experience of their lives and we have to expect every team to do the same when they play us. ”.
“If we don’t play the right way and don’t come with the right energy and focus, we can be defeated, no matter who the opponent is,” Coach Kerr advised.
“But when we have the drive and if we find that, we can dominate other teams. It’s a great reminder of two things: If we don’t play hard, we can get beat.”
With 20 seconds left in the match, JT Thor (who has played for the Charlotte Hornets for the past 3 seasons) had a 3-point shot to put South Sudan ahead 100-99.
After James had a 2-point basket to put Dream Team over 101-100, the team from East Africa had 1 more possession of the ball, but Carlik Jones and Wenyen Gabriel both missed their opportunities.
Coach Kerr had to praise his opponent: “South Sudan played so wonderfully. I didn’t do a good job preparing the team. We weren’t focused enough and their ability to surprise was my fault.”
“I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence from the beginning. When we accelerated in the second half, they hit a series of successful 3-point shots and were pleased with themselves.”
James – Dream Team’s hero – shared: “We have to keep moving forward. There are many teams we face that have gathered a month or many months in advance, we have only had 2 weeks together.”
“So every match, every recording session, we have a chance. We must try to make the most of those opportunities, not step back!”, the 2-time Olympic champion and 4-time NBA champion shared.
