PARIS — The original and sequel were classics, with high drama and stars who became heroes in the final act. But wait for the possible Hollywood trilogy.
Three summers ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Kevin Durant scored 29 points in a masterful performance in the gold medal game to defeat France in a five-point victory and bring the gold back to the home of basketball in the U.S.
On Saturday night, inside France's national stadium, with the teams separated by three points in the fourth quarter, Steph Curry added to his legacy with a three-point shooting display that brought a thousand French tears and earned the first-elect Hall of Famer another dazzling line on his resume.
Now, with the move to American soil as LA28 takes center stage, so does the reality that Team France and Team USA are locked in an escalating rivalry with no end in sight.
“The United States is still the best team in the world, but we're getting closer,” Nicolas Batum said Saturday night after his final game as a France player. “We respect them, but we're not afraid of them. We'll just go out there and try to beat them.”
Since 2004, Team USA has a 36-1 record at the Olympics. The only loss was to France in Tokyo in the group stage. Since then, they have rallied to win their next two high-stakes games and forced the French to scrape away to take the silver medals. But French basketball is undoubtedly on the rise, and four years from now, the challenge for the United States could only be greater.
In the 2023 and 2024 drafts, five French players were selected in the lottery by NBA teams. Of course, among them were two number one overall picks: Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher.
In June, center Alex Sarr was selected second overall by a French double to open the draft. And next year, ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony projects young French guard Nolan Traore to be another lottery pick for the French team to develop around.
“To be honest, I expected more (in the title match) and once again it has shown me that we could (beat the United States), but you have to play a perfect match, we didn't, that's all,” said Vincent Collet, who has been the coach of the French national team for the past 15 years. “But I really think that with a little bit more we could put a lot more pressure on them. OK, we didn't. But we weren't too far off. I'm sure we could do better… They dominate because they have a real edge with individual talent.”
Collet is known for his candor. His statements are empirically true, but he stopped short of saying what lies just beneath the surface: that America's edge in individual talent is in jeopardy.
This is where Wembanyama once again comes into the spotlight. Overall, she did not have a dominant performance at the Paris Games. In fact, for a month she was part of a disappointing showing for France, as the team nearly fell apart under the enormous pressure of performing at home.
But over the past week, Wembanyama has shown why he is one of the most attractive players in the world.
Her performance in the gold medal match was inspiring, showing no signs of fear. She scored a game-high 26 points, added seven rebounds and, as is her nature, gave the U.S. all kinds of problems with her height and ability to move on defense.
The best players on Team USA this cycle were legends, with Durant, Curry and Olympic MVP LeBron James leading the United States to gold in their 30s and 40s. France's best player is 20 years old and has a burning desire to do so.
The Americans also have some excellent young talent. 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 that returning to Los Angeles in 2028 is an option. Tyrese Haliburton was slowed at the Olympics by a minor leg injury (Team USA didn’t announce it, but he did get an MRI, sources said) and was caught up in a numbers-and-rotation game, but he has a future with the program. There’s also Ja Morant, a forgotten option with his struggles the past two years but another potential member of the national team.
At Team USA's training camp, there was promise from potential 2025 No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg, who could also become a factor in four years.
USA Basketball CEO Grant Hill is expected to remain with the program and lead the team through the 2027 World Cup in Qatar (the U.S. hasn't won a medal at that event since 2014) and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But a new coach will likely be needed.
Steve Kerr added a gold medal as a head coach to his four rings as head coach of the Golden State Warriors and his five NBA championships as a player. He joked Saturday night about retiring as national team coach and no final decision has been announced, but it's likely he'll go in that direction. This year's top assistant coaches, Erik Spoelstra and Ty Lue, are the leading candidates to take over.
All of this is a matter for the future, and one that carries with it foreseeable uncertainty. But one thing that is certain is that the US team will once again face the French, and especially Wembanyama, and there will likely be gold at stake.
“Nobody knows what's going to happen, but what's certain is that we're growing. Basketball is growing here,” Wembanyama said. “Nobody's going to take (this experience) away from me. I'm learning and I'm worried about the opponents in a couple of years.”
