On Thursday, Team USA came back to beat Serbia, 95-91, to advance to the gold medal game against France in the 2024 Paris Olympics. If you only saw the final box score, you’d only get half of the story, as the Americans completed a historic comeback after trailing for much of the game and by as much as 17 points. Denver Nuggets champion Nikola Jokic had the Serbians firing on all cylinders until Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry put on his superhero cape and pulled out the win. Still, Curry’s teammate Draymond Green was just as anxious as the viewers back home.
During an episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, Dray opened up to Baron Davis about how he planned to help Team USA overcome the deficit.
“My heart was in my stomach watching this game,” Green said. “I was this close to putting Bron and Steph in a group chat, like, ‘Bruh, come on man.’ At halftime, we was down 11, I was boutta–I was this close to group-texting them.”
Draymond Green on the Olympics and the Warriors’ future
“I was tweeting like a muhf**ker,” Green also added in response to Davis saying that the Olympics gave a different feeling than the usual NBA game.
“I was tweeting like a mutha,” Green continued. “We couldn’t lose this game, because, man, although I didn’t end up on this Olympic team, I remember vividly winning in 2021 and like, saying, ‘Yo, the next step is to beat France in France.’ And somehow, France, they beat Germany. I know how. Matchups was good for them.”
Related NewsArticle continues below
After beating Serbia, Team USA is set to make Green’s prediction come true, although they will face an inspired France team with all the momentum in the world. Moreover, general prospect Victor Wembanyama should be eager to play spoiler and prove to the world why he should be the next face of world basketball.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are also at a crossroads. After the Sacramento Kings eliminated them from the play-in tournament last season, they then lost Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. Then, they waived Chris Paul, who signed with the Spurs for the chance to mentor Wembanyama. They tried to plug the gaps in their roster by trying to trade for Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen, but the Finnish forward decided to sign an extension.
After the Warriors missed on Markkanen, it looks like their title window is officially shut. However, the team should still be active in the trade market to surround Stephen Curry with quality players until the rebuild eventually happens.
