And then there were four as France, Slovenia, USA, and Australia are all what’s left here in the Olympics 2020 basketball at Tokyo, Japan.
These four juggernauts have been solid all throughout the competition, and here at SBOTOP, we expect them to bring their A-game in the semifinals.
France got into the final four after grinding past Italy to remain unbeaten in this tournament. Their counterparts in Slovenia outclassed Germany in the quarter-finals as Luka Doncic flirted with another possible triple-double.
USA came away with a hard-fought victory against their bitter rivals in Spain, while Australia demolished Argentina in what was a wire-to-wire win.
As the tournament reaches its climax, let’s examine how these four nations stack up here in our semis preview.
France vs Slovenia
Two of the tournament’s undefeated countries go head-to-head as France take on Slovenia this Thursday.
Some of the biggest foreign NBA stars will be present in this contest, namely Dallas Mavericks playmaker Luka Doncic and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
Luka Doncic has lived up to the hype here in his first-ever Olympics. The 22-year-old wunderkind has been doing it all for Slovenia and it’s remarkable that they have never lost a single international match with him in the lineup (17-0).
The Dallas Mavericks stalwart is the top scorer in the Olympics so far at 26.3 points per game and he’s at second in the assists category with 8.0 per game.
From the moment he set foot in Tokyo, Doncic lit up the box score as he churned out numerous Olympics 2020 highlights en route to 48 points vs Argentina – which is the second highest for an Olympics debut.
Slovenia are going to be confident entering this match but they need their other key players to step up since France are quite a deep squad.
Like Doncic, France also made a statement in their Olympic opener when they toppled USA, 83-76.
The Frenchmen are also unblemished in Tokyo, thanks in large part to the duo Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert.
Fournier, who just confirmed his move to the Knicks via free agency on a four-year deal, is averaging 18.3 points per contest. On the other hand, Gobert has been a monster down low despite only averaging 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Other than these two, France will be backstopped by the likes of the Nets’ Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Clippers’ Nicolas Batum, and Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina.
Nando De Colo, Vincent Poirier, and Guerschon Yabusele are all NBA-calibre talent who can contribute as well.
USA vs Australia
USA are the prohibitive favourites in the Olympics 2020 odds as they’re now on a win streak since their opening defeat to France. However, Australia are definitely no pushovers.
It hasn’t been easy for the Stars and Stripes since they have high expectations, but their wins over Iran and Czech Republic in the group stage gave them the confidence that they need to reach this stage.
Fortunately for them, they have one of the best players on the planet in Kevin Durant, who has maintained his spectacular form since the 2020 NBA playoffs.
The sweet-shooting combo forward dropped 29 points in their quarter-finals win against Spain. And just like the Nets, who are one of the super early title favourites in the 2021/22 season, USA will need him to take charge.
Jayson Tatum is the second leading scorer for USA with 15.8 points per game on 51-per cent shooting from the field, and right behind him is Damian Lillard who’s posting 12.8 points per game so far.
Late additions Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Khris Middleton have been the x-factors for the Stars and Stripes because of their two-way play, while Zach LaVine, Bam Adebayo, and Draymond Green should continue to play heavy minutes moving forward.
Their opponents in Australia are thrilled to be back in the semis for the first time since 1988 and they’ll try their best to finally securing their first-ever Olympics basketball medal.
Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, and Matisse Thybulle are some of the recognisable NBA names in their roster and the trio will spearhead the Boomers’ charge.
Jock Landale, who just secured a two-year deal with the Spurs, is the x-factor in the middle and he’ll get a glimpse of what the NBA competition looks like in dealing with the Americans.
It wasn’t too long ago when Australia handed USA a shocking defeat in Las Vegas. And if the Boomers pull it off once more, there’s no doubt that it’ll be their greatest victory in their basketball history.
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