[earnest music builds slowly]
[crowd cheers rising]
[music intensifies]
[commentator 1] The US have, as expected, won the gold.
[commentator 2] A walk-away win for the United States.
[commentator 3] Gold again for the USA. They are unbeatable.
[tense music builds]
[commentator 1] There's a new era in Olympic basketball.
It's a celebration for the rest of the basketball world.
[tense music continues to build]
[commentator 1] Jokić for the win!
Oh!
- It's good! - [commentator 2] Are you kidding me?
[crowd shouting] MVP! MVP!
[commentator 1] Antetokounmpo throws it down!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander!
[music recedes slightly]
The game is not just an American game no more.
[announcer] Welcome to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Last year in the World Cup we lost, and it was heartbreaking.
[commentator 1] The Germans have done it! They have stunned the United States!
[Curry] We were watching the basketball world cup,
and that's when the conversation started, you know, going around.
Are we the favorites anymore?
When the best 12 guys come with that Team USA across the jersey,
nobody should beat us.
[dramatic music rises slowly]
["Run It Up" by Bas playing]
Excitement for this basketball tournament is off the charts.
[man rapping]
[commentator] You can feel the anticipation in the air.
A different level of intensity.
We're at an interesting time in the game of basketball right now.
You have three, four, five teams that are contenders
More importantly, three, four, five teams that believe they can win a gold medal.
♪ Nothing can stop me ♪
The United States Men's Basketball Team has won four straight Olympic gold medals.
[Hill] We're still the best at this.
We beat you with greatness.
When you get your moment, you bring it, or we bring another Hall of Famer in.
Holy shit. He's so fucking good.
[commentator] Curry!
[echoing] Oh!
♪ I overcame all the odds ♪
You look in the NBA, our most recent MVPs have been international players.
[in Serbian] Get into a bit of a fight with them… Let them get nervous a bit…
[in English] The basketball in Serbia gave happiness to people when time wasn't good.
[commentator] Bogdanović, deep ball, and it's good.
[Bogdanovič] Basketball is in our blood. When you're young, everybody teaches you
that we are the best in basketball.
- [in Serbian] Who's the best? - Serbia!
[in English] With the success we have, you know, you start believing it.
We're not intimidated by the United States at all.
Canada has its own national sport. It's hockey.
But they're developing some players.
[Brooks] This is supposed to be the best United States since the Dream Team.
We can put any one of our ten against any starting five,
and we have a chance to win.
I'm playing for my life.
♪ Nothing can stop me ♪
[Wemby] We just had two first overall picks in a row.
More and more people know what's coming, you know, from France.
[in French] We're not the team we used to be! Not anymore!
It just doesn't work!
Yes, we want the gold medal at the Olympics. My ass!
[in English] At home, we got one chance in a lifetime. We can't waste it.
It's going to be on us to have the balls to embrace that pressure.
[commentator] Wembanyama.
Two to shoot. Fournier. A bomb!
♪ Nothing can stop me ♪
Basketball is always gonna have to go through… the US.
[Bam] The world's catching up to you.
You don't wanna be that team the world catches up to.
[Durant] Treating them like they the best teams in the world.
That's just crazy.
[Durant] Because we need to be at that level if we want to play at our best.
- Cheers. - [all] Cheers!
I feel like all of them a threat. And when somebody's a threat to us,
then you know what happens after that.
[commentator] Carter. It's…
Oh!
♪ Nothing can stop me ♪
[music fades to silence]
[shoes squeaking on court]
- [shoes squeaking] - [overlapping chatter]
["RISE!" by Tyler, The Creator plays]
I'm good. I'm good.
Ball. Ball. Ball.
[Durant] Hey, Book! Goddamn Book!
Goddamn Book! Goddamn Book!
Ice, 'Bron! Ice! Ice, 'Bron!
Lock in! Lock in, come on!
[Durant] Since I've been coming to USAB, we talk about,
"Pressure's there every time you put this jersey on."
Exhibition or a regular game.
I feel like we can't lose… or have a tight game,
which is the pressure you need to become a better player, a better human being.
I'm low. Yeah.
On paper, I feel like this team can compete with
all of the Olympic teams that's come before us.
Swing. Swing, Joel.
You got cutter. I'm corner.
One dribble, pass.
Put it down early.
[Kerr] All my coaching friends, they laugh and they just say,
"Coaching USA Basketball is the most thankless job in sports."
You're just supposed to win. And if you do, who cares?
If you lose, it's, you know… you're… you're a failure.
Come on. You got room.
We want to get to this spot.
If you're in the corner, Ant, you're right there,
and I shoot from this side,
we got to sprint back through this elbow.
We're going to pick off three extra possessions a game.
Alright? Here we go. Next group.
[Davis] You got it. You good.
Weak. Strong!
[grunts]
For this roster, I looked at it, kind of as three buckets.
You have the…
seasoned guys.
Guys whose legacies are cemented.
Then you have maybe some guys who are in their prime.
[Tatum] Get through it, Steph.
[Hill] And then you have some younger guys.
And you wanted representation from all three buckets.
[Edwards] There we go!
Let's get them on a group text, where they now can start bonding,
and coming together, forming those relationships.
Watch out, I got it. Ant, stay home.
♪ And I'll always be ahead of you Don't you forget it ♪
- You gonna come to Indy? - I might wanna come to Indy.
- Come on. Make it happen. - Psych! Never in my life.
I would rather retire.
[laughing quietly]
Yo, that's not fair, bro.
Next time y'all come to Indy, let's go to dinner. Come to my crib.
I'm good, man.
- Gotta get out the hotel. - I'll come to your crib.
- Come to my crib. - I'll come to the game.
Yeah, come on.
[pensive music playing]
[Malika] I'm really curious to see, sort of, how Steve Kerr
is going to manage all of these stars
because really this is a team that has an embarrassment of riches.
Rip, rip up. Rip, rip. Red.
LeBron James, he's about to be 40, you know, the end of this calendar year.
[commentator] LeBron James, a shot at history.
My goodness!
The NBA's all-time scoring record
now belongs to LeBron James.
His willingness to go out there,
publicly, and say, "I'm in."
That's a powerful statement.
He wants, I think, to help show some of these younger guys
what it takes to be… a gold medalist.
what it takes to be an ambassador, what it takes to be a star.
Don't be in here.
I'm taking the roll. So I need you splitting the difference.
So you can take there if he throw it there, or there.
Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.
[Edwards] There she go.
There she go!
[Hill] Anthony Edwards is one of our bright young stars.
[commentator] Ant Edwards!
The explosion to the rim!
Anthony is… he's kind of one-of-a-kind.
[laughing]
[Hill] To throw him out there with Kevin Durant,
his hero from when he was a little kid…
I mean, that's special.
What's the number one thing you look forward to?
Playing alongside KD.
That's the only thing I'm looking to do.
- He means that much to you? - He's my favorite player of all time.
I want to see the Olympic KD.
[Malika] Entering these games, Kevin has three gold medals.
He's going for four, which would put him standing alone
on top of the men's basketball pyramid, as the only player ever
to have four Olympic gold medals. And, by the way, that's not it.
He also is looking to become the all-time leading scorer
for USA Basketball, men's or women's.
[Durant] Everybody's at a different part of their career.
You got Ant, a young guy in the league, his first one.
This is Steph's first one, but he's 36 years old.
Steph Curry is the greatest person to ever shoot a basketball, ever.
[commentator 1] Clock at three.
Curry, three! Oh!
[commentator 2 laughs]
- Oh, there's the meme! - [commentator 1 ] What a shot!
[Curry] This being my first Olympics, it's the right time because of the stakes
of Team USA regaining and reliving our dominance.
I think once we showed up to Vegas,
everybody was taking it serious, everybody was locked in on…
making sure every day we were getting something out of it,
competing, having fun, talking.
- [overlapping chatter] - I got him. Yeah.
One of the things that these guys love is
playing with the guys they're used to competing against,
and joining forces,
and then sharing the responsibility
that they're used to handling on their own.
[Edwards] See how they forget about you, bro?
- It's all good. - [Davis laughs]
Man, you have…
such a gift. Like, just…
I mean, look at… You were a tailback.
- You're running over people, right? - Yeah.
When is that gonna translate to rebounding?
When is that gonna translate to… find a body, and boom!
- Yeah. - Hit guys.
My coach be getting on my ass about the same shit.
Yes, because that's the next step for you.
You know, like, you took such a leap last year
from the beginning of practice to the end of the World Cup,
and then it translated. You became one of the best players in the league.
- This is the next step. - Yeah, for sure.
I'm watching… I'm watching how hard LeBron practices.
- I've never seen him practice before. - Right, right.
- I'm like, "Oh my God." - Yeah.
I've seen Steph, both those guys, just all the talking, all the physicality.
- Yeah. - That's the next step for you.
You got another level you can get to, but it's all the little boring stuff.
Yeah. No, I got you. I'm gonna lock in on it.
- Use that body, man. - I got you, baby.
[Kerr] To look at all you guys…
half of you are already Hall of Famers.
If you retired right now, half this team would be Hall of Famers.
The other half is gonna be Hall of Famers. We got 12 Hall of Famers in here.
But Grant said it, this is going to take some time, right?
So, can we commit right now to throw all the NBA stuff out the window?
Alright. Nobody's getting paid.
Nobody's here for any other reason than, man, we want to win.
We want to win a gold medal, and we want to play together.
So, you might be in a position where you don't even play for a couple games.
I don't know how it's going to work out.
I do know it would be really hard to play 12 people in a 40-minute game.
I've had a few people say to me,
"This reminds me of the Dream Team in '92."
You guys have… I mean, maybe a few of you were born.
I guess LeBron, you were born. Steph.
You know, that team… transformed basketball,
opened up the world to our game.
Dream Team is the greatest team ever assembled in any sport.
The fascinating thing about the Dream Team is what produced it, what forced it.
[commentator] Wasn't expected to be this tense.
[Wilbon] The loss in 1988 in the Olympics,
the US team losing to the old Soviet Union
and Arvydas Sabonis.
Our traditional, classic model of amateur basketball players,
college kids,
representing the United States of America was not sustainable.
There's a national pride, there's embarrassment for USA Basketball.
We own this. We created it.
We…
We are the template.
[commentator] …goes home stunned.
[Wilbon] In 1988, in Seoul, it was, "We can't have any more of this."
"We can't have losses like this."
We couldn't win it anymore.
USA Basketball, what are we going to do?
And all of a sudden it was, "Okay, let's get committees."
"Let's have panels. Let's have studies. Let's do something."
[tense string music playing]
[Wilbon] So by the time you got to '92, when you put that team together,
you're trying to put together the best possible group
of NBA players you could have.
The opening press conference in Barcelona,
one of the questions was put to Charles Barkley,
you know, "What do you know about Angola?"
And Charles's exact answer was…
I don't know anything about Angola, but Angola's in trouble.
[Wilbon] So every team was in trouble.
That was the badge of honor, you got to be in trouble against them.
You got to be in trouble against the Beatles, the Stones… Jackson 5.
You got to be on the floor with them.
[Wade] All the international players saw their favorite players.
They got to touch them. They got to hear stories about them.
They got to experience them in a way. So it opened the game up for everyone.
The players that the Dream Team played against,
it motivated them.
So, I just had started basketball, like early '90s.
And, you know, I was just being a big fan.
And then… But the Olympics changed everything for me.
[upbeat music playing]
[Nowitzki] It really put, I want to say, basketball even on the map more in Europe.
[Parker] Yeah, the Dream Team had a huge impact on me.
When I was ten years old, I went to the game in Monaco.
They played the French National Team.
And after that, I wanted to, you know, go to the NBA. It became my dream.
The teams were catching up. It was getting closer and closer.
In '96, it was closer. In 2000, it was closer.
[commentator] Gold for Argentina. Silver for Italy.
Bronze for the USA, but this game will go down in the annals.
In so many ways, it was a coming basketball tsunami,
trumpeting the sea change of international round ball power.
[Wade] 2004, in Athens,
we… we came home with the bronze. We were very disappointed.
[tense string music continues]
[Wilbon] Americans call it a disaster.
People who care about world basketball called it
the beginning of the enlightened age.
[Wade] It was a disaster, but it also did enlighten all of us that
the game and the players have gotten great.
[Anthony] While we were looking at our USA team,
the rest of the world was looking at their own players
in their respective countries.
Right? So, they're taking that back
and planting those seeds in their own countries.
And now, what you're seeing today is just… those seeds has blossomed.
[commentator 1] How about Jokić with an incredible pass to Aaron Gordon!
[commentator 2] Spins away, baseline shot.
Shai puts it in and locks it up!
[commentator 3] Trying to answer. He is stuffed, and taken away.
The fire, the sparks, the flame,
the brush… is all 1992. All of it. Every bit of it.
[crowd cheering and whistling]
The scary thing for American basketball that we've now seen is,
when you run through who the top four or five players are in the NBA,
to me, it's Jokić is the undisputed champ.
It's Luka. It's Giannis. And if you really want to get into it, SGA's Canadian.
When's the next best player in the world going to be from America?
By yourself, champ. By yourself, champ.
Yep, yep, yep.
[grunts, shouts]
[Malika] Coming into this Olympics,
there's a lot of questions about this men's basketball team.
And exactly what it's going to look like.
Because you're coming off of a World Cup in Manila,
where the United States didn't medal… in Manila.
And it was shocking.
[Wade] It's a pretty big deal, to be in the World Cup.
Some countries are trying to get their first opportunity, bid,
to make it to the Olympics.
When you're looking at the USA, it's a big deal to place.
[Curry] I do remember, we were watching the Basketball World Cup.
Coach Kerr was coaching.
There was a lot of new guys representing the, you know, Team USA.
[Malika] While you knew maybe not all of the players are the same ones
that you would see on the Olympic team,
you're still talking about
some of the top young talent that's in the NBA.
[commentator] These teams entered with high hopes.
Canada into the top four for the first time in history.
There's a positive factor there.
It was a weird feeling being, like, watching…
and for all the guys that have represented our country,
whether it's Olympics, or World Championships,
like, losing's not an option.
[commentator] There is a nice shot by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again.
And the Canada fans now start to celebrate a little bit.
If you look at the Dream Team,
the guys that were playing against them are, like, scared.
I think that's changed now. That fear factor isn't there anymore.
[commentator] That's going to be it. Canada, they have reached the podium.
They have won the third-place game against the United States.
In the Battle of the Americas.
When they ended up losing to Canada in the bronze medal game,
so finishing fourth, that's when the conversation started going around.
You know, the 24-hour news cycle of, "Are we the favorites anymore?"
[Malika] For years, I think the US maybe has even taken for granted,
since NBA players started representing the country,
that that means that that is a shoo-in to win.
[Russillo] It is funny with basketball, how it'll become cyclical.
Like, despite our success, we can't just dominate everybody.
We have to be challenged a bit to be motivated to put together a roster,
and a roster with guys like Durant, LeBron, and Steph
being like, "Let's fix this."
[Hill] What was interesting was… once we lost,
you know, last summer in the World Cup,
LeBron and some others talked about their desire to be a part of it.
What's up, man. We're gonna make history this summer, man. So, I'm excited.
[James] Oh, man. It's gonna be a great summer. Absolutely.
I know we all felt the same way.
'Bron was the first one to send a text message out.
I believe I was at dinner, here in the city,
and the text was like, '"Hey, what you think about next summer?"
And I said, "Right now, if you had to ask me, I'm all in."
I get a text from 'Bron, like…
he hadn't played in like 12 years.
Steph, this is his first time, everybody's so excited to come to Paris.
So, I was like, "Man, of course."
[Curry] It didn't really sink home for me until I got my jersey.
This is real.
We're gonna represent our country well, go get that gold.
That's something I don't have, and I really want it, so…
There's a few guys who are, you know, just kind of automatic, right?
I mean, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant.
The main thing with the Paris Olympics, alright?
2024… you're not getting a single "no." Nobody's saying no to Paris.
'Cause even if the player doesn't wanna go,
his wife or girlfriend wants to go, you know?
So, you're getting everybody.
I think everybody, from the start,
when we first text each other in a group chat,
it was like, "They're saying these other countries have caught up."
Like, "Let's find out. Let's see."
[Durant] When you look at it from the top to bottom, resumes,
what these guys accomplished in the league,
and you put it all on paper, it's insane.
My expectations for the team was a flat out, just a gold.
If we win by 50… I want to… I want to win by 40 points, as much as we can,
but I know it ain't gonna always be like that. That ain't the game.
And I do respect that they got better, the rest of the world,
the rest of these teams, but I just wanna win the medal.
[Durant] Good pass, boy. Good pass, 'Bron.
The entire conversation as we head into Paris is… "Is this enough?"
[indistinct shouts]
[Wilbon] The common expectation is "wipe the floor."
That will happen in the first game or two.
Do I think that will happen later in the group stage
and in the medal round? No.
No, I think other teams around the world are too good.
They have too many good players.
[grunts]
[Kerr] Well, the gap's closed.
And I hope my players are upset about that,
because the challenge that they will receive when we get to Paris,
it will be difficult.
That's a good first day.
We'll keep layering it and getting better.
You guys'll get your legs underneath you, and we'll be rolling before long.
Let's keep working every day.
We're gonna finish up with free throws and shooting baskets.
- But let's bring it in. Good stuff, guys. - Great work!
- Gold, man. One, two, three! - [all] Gold!
[light music playing]
[pundit 1] How can the red, white and blue live up to their lofty expectations?
[pundit 2] The expectations are fair if anybody thinks…
[pundit 3] The world is not in awe of us. They're not scared of us anymore.
[pundit 4] Anything short of a gold medal will be viewed definitely as a failure.
There's only one task. That's gold.
That's the only goal, the only task,
the only thing that will suffice.
[man on mic] There's no one in the world
who's a bigger basketball fan,
and there's no one in the world
who's a bigger supporter of USA basketball.
So, with that said, I'd like to bring out our special guest.
[audience clapping and cheering]
[Obama] I just want to come here to, obviously, help send off
soon-to-be gold medal winners.
There are a lot of things that make America exceptional.
Nothing has represented that more powerfully than USA Basketball.
Having said all that, y'all better win.
[audience laughs]
[Obama] Sometimes, I've been accused, to a fault, of
being interested in what goes on outside our borders,
and reminding us that we're connected to everybody,
and that America needs to be a partner
and not just dictate terms to the world.
But when it comes to basketball…
I expect the USA
to win a gold medal
every single time.
And yes,
them getting a silver medal would be… terrible.
And embarrassing. Just wanted to get that on the record.
[overlapping chatter]
[Obama] I didn't think I'd start… What do you think about this young guy?
- He can hoop a little bit, huh? - Just a little bit.
- Huh? - Man, y'all better stand down.
- I'm the truth. - He's the truth?
- You said you're the truth. Yeah? - These boys know.
- I guess. - He's cold. I gotta give him credit.
He gives up 50 every time we play him.
He's lucky I ain't seven foot.
And y'all got two seven-footers, and he's still scoring on them.
Hold on. Don't talk… We ain't gonna do all that.
- No, I'm just saying… - Three seven-footers.
- That's right, because he got Naz Reid. - I gave him credit. I told you.
He did give you credit. I remember that.
Yo, K.
- LeBron. - Watch him.
Come on.
Are y'all talking to this young man? 'Cause he just keeps on…
Right now, he just said he's the truth and all that, and…
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
You asked… Tell him the whole context of the situation.
You asked him what he think about this young man.
And he said I'm okay.
I said, "I'm the truth, he's tripping." That's what happened.
It's nothing wrong with that.
- [Obama] See? - Nothing wrong with that.
- Gotta have that. - That man the truth.
- Gotta have swag like that. - He ain't lying.
- [high-pitched] He ain't lying. - He ain't lying. [laughing]
Hey, 'Rese, what that is right there? Strawberry lemonade?
[Haliburton] Mocktail, yeah, Shirley Temple.
- It got, like, alcohol in it? - No.
- Oh, I'll take one of those. - There you go.
That's… Way to go, young man.
See the old guys, they're all like, "Nah."
[Obama] Here you've got to take, by far, the best talent,
but you gotta meld it into a team.
The competition is serious.
It's not a given… that we win.
- [tense string music playing] - [shoes squeaking on court]
[indistinct shouting]
[in Serbian] Hands!
[Pešić] We shouldn't exaggerate in anything,
but all the arguments are there that this is the hardest tournament,
Olympic tournament up to date.
We have… you play as your practice.
And that's how you gain confidence.
These are very important things.
- [clapping] - [overlapping shouts]
- [whistle blows] - [Jordi in English] Good ball pressure.
There we go. There we go.
- [shouting] - [whistle blows]
[Jordi] There's no easy team to play against.
You go team by team,
and they all have superstars.
They have groups that have been together for many years.
We're going to play France in France.
Say we play Team USA, Serbia, just go on and on and on.
We're not intimidated. We look forward to the challenge, what it presents.
[Jordi] Nobody in this tournament
can play the same way we're capable of playing.
[music ends]
I don't know that I would put one team out there, but France,
they have incredible continuity with their team.
Coach Collet… and they're playing on their home soil.
["Haut Parleur" by AXS Music, Jule Thorel Guillan, LYMS & Slaik plays]
[man rapping in French]
[man in French] Could the Olympics in France be a tipping point
for French basketball?
[Diaw in English] Being at home,
I don't think I fully grasp the extent of it.
The biggest sport event in our lifetime.
Because the last time the Olympics was in Paris was 1924.
[woman in French] Competing in the Olympics at home, there's a pressure
which often manifests physically and psychologically.
How do you think a younger player,
like Wembanyama, would be able to handle all that?
[energetic music playing]
[commentator in English] Wembanyama with a stuff!
More and more people know what's coming, you know, from France.
The new wave, you know, the energy around basketball.
- [commentator] On the drive… - [commentator 2] Oh my!
[Malika] Victor Wembanyama is the greatest prospect of all time.
[commentator] …has three assists.
What a pass by Wembanyama!
Everyone's excited to see, like, what is this young man going to be?
And having his first Olympics this early in his career,
at about 20 years old, roughly, that makes it exciting.
[commentator] …to the bucket. Oh, with authority! Over Şengün!
Count the basket and the foul!
Wemby, immediately, is not afraid.
And Wemby, I feel, has the best mindset of any super prospect that I've ever seen.
Like, he's about the right things,
he says the right things, he's all business, no bullshit.
You can tell that there's zero fear with him.
[commentator] Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
Whoa!
I think France is coming. I really do.
For this tournament, the way we are built, with the players we have,
defense is going to be our blueprint. That's for sure.
Together as a team, we can be the best defense,
and so we have to focus on that.
The biggest part and most important part is the team chemistry,
because they've been playing together year after year.
And sometimes that can be, you know, something that might be tough for the US.
You know, they're gonna practice for three weeks.
Sometimes it's hard to find that chemistry in three weeks.
[overlapping shouts]
[Wilbon] France has a chance.
What is it about that somebody doesn't understand… in terms of
the ability of France to challenge the United States and anybody else?
[in French] And what about the American team?
Since you've already played them and you have as many stars as they do,
does it make them seem less god-like?
I don't know. I think we'll be able to tell only after the competition.
[in English] The USA and France rivalry started in 2020 in Tokyo.
[dramatic music plays]
[Wade] France was making their step.
Sometimes you get caught.
It happens for Team USA every now and again,
where teams have been preparing for you.
They've been dreaming about this moment, dreaming about this game.
This is everything for them, so sometimes they're gonna get you.
They're gonna play a little harder, better than you.
[dramatic music continues]
[Kerr] We played France in the first pool play game in Tokyo,
and it was a really bizarre set of circumstances because of COVID,
the Olympics being pushed back.
[commentator] Good hustle by France.
And what a bucket there by Evan Fournier.
Everybody wants to beat the US.
[commentator] Holiday for three, and it will not go,
and the 25-game win streak
for the United States of America is over.
[Fournier] After we played Team USA the first game in Tokyo,
winning against them was special.
Playing Team USA is always special.
[Batum] Tokyo, we beat them in the first game,
but we knew, like, we're gonna see them again.
[commentator] And here we go from Saitama Super Arena, gold medal matchup.
The United States in white, France in blue.
Part of me wished that we would have played them only once,
to kind of surprise them.
KD went nuts that game,
and sometimes, you know, you just lose against a better player.
[commentator] Durant.
Three more for the big fella.
And that's the way it's going to end.
Coming up short in the final, it's painful.
[Batum] The positive we have to take from that game is, 20 years ago,
we'd be like, "We lost to the US. We're good."
But now we're pissed.
[Wade] For France, that was a confidence builder in 2020.
That, "Oh, we almost…"
"Oh, we… We're there." And that was without Wemby.
That was without, quote-unquote, their best player.
[music ends]
Yeah, I just want to beat France.
They had seven new players go into the league,
so they're feeling themselves, and I get it.
And they just really feel like they can beat us.
[indistinct chatter]
[triumphant instrumental music plays]
[commentator] We are in the heart of Paris, a city renowned
for its sport, art, culture, and history, to mark the beginning
of an extraordinary event that simultaneously transcends borders,
inspires generations, and brings the world together.
Welcome to the Games of the 33rd Olympiad.
[triumphant music intensifies]
Look at you. You look good.
How you feeling, Steph? Looking fresh.
Oh, I feel great. You know, this is… This is wild.
This is wild. Let me go call my wife.
Hey, fam.
Alright.
Lady right there. Get your tie, right behind my man.
- Blonde lady. - Yep.
- So you're going for five, huh? - Four.
I got my Polaroid, I'm locked in.
The only one that got a different jacket is Bron-Bron there,
with his flag-bearer jacket. Look at him.
Gotta add a little bling to it, you know.
- Put something extra to it, but… - I look better.
He's just darker than me.
[crowd chattering]
[James] I don't know where we at.
We headed to Opening… Opening Ceremony, man.
- 2024. Live from Paris. - Damn! The whole family out there.
[music recedes slightly]
[Batum] Of course we wanted to be there, but we played the next day at 5 p.m.
We want to be part of it, for sure, but you want to win game at the end.
So we took a decision to not go, and just stay there and be ready for the game.
- Hi, good luck. - Appreciate it.
[Fournier] When we play Team USA, we definitely have an advantage.
We know each other. We've played together for ten-plus years.
We have training camps every summer.
These guys don't. These guys just show up for three weeks and just go play, right?
It's extremely hard to create a team and create chemistry like that,
and I think that's… that's their biggest disadvantage.
And… that's always a challenge for them.
[music ends]
Y'all can play together every day for five years.
That ain't gonna help you.
That chemistry gonna help you when you got to guard Steph?
[laughing] That's…
So, whoever's talking, man, especially France, man…
Like, just play the games, man. We ain't talking about y'all.
We're respecting what y'all are doing over there, but… just play the games, bro.
[tense string music plays]
[Fournier] I'm actually happy that Steph, LeBron, KD, all these guys gonna be here.
Because it's kind of…
It's kind of upsetting when, you know, you play against them…
You beat them, or you have a close game, whatever.
And some guys say, "They didn't have their best team, blah, blah, blah."
You know, it's upsetting.
So, I'm happy that they brought their A-game.
[chanting] USA! USA! USA!
[indistinct chatter in French]
[announcer 1 in English] Los Angeles will host the next Olympic Games.
This is the most successful country in the history of the Games,
with over 1,000 gold medals, over 2,500 medals in total.
Flag-bearers are tennis sensation Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open Champion,
and two-time Olympic gold medalist and NBA superstar LeBron James.
[Gauff] This is crazy.
With LeBron James!
- [woman] That's incredible. - Crazy.
- With LeBron James! - [woman] That's incredible.
[Batum] Why… did they bring the big team?
Why, this time, everybody's coming? Why?
Because maybe they know… [chuckles]
…if they don't do it, they might lose again.
Oh, okay.
Oh, alright.
What? Okay, we got to bring our A-team. Y'all got to bring yours too.
You got Victor now. I get it.
[announcer 2] That must mean there's one more boat to come.
[announcer 1] France.
[announcer 2] France…
Five hundred and seventy-three competitors
taking part in front of their home crowd.
[whooping]
[tense string music continues]
[Durant] They can't talk like that, like, "Ya'll better bring y'all best team."
Okay, y'all better bring y'all best team too.
You… You seen what the results can be. We got evidence.
So, like, yeah, that sure sounds good, but we'll see.
[music fades out]
[subdued music rises slowly]
[music fades out]