Former Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal, who won the 1996 Olympic men’s basketball gold medal in Atlanta in dominant fashion, weighed in on the 2024 iteration of Team USA and how that club struggled in its final two games en route to its fifth straight gold medal.
Led by Los Angeles All-NBA forward LeBron James and All-NBA center Anthony Davis, Team USA survived a spirited effort from Team Serbia in the semifinals before narrowly holding on to San Antonio Spurs All-Defensive center Victor Wembanyama and the rest of Team France in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Games.
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On a recent episode of his show “The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal,“The 7-foot-1 big man expressed his disappointment with Team USA’s disappointing performance.
O’Neal may have given up early. He appeared to be particularly frustrated by a tight 101-100 comeback against South Sudan in an exhibition game on July 20. James led the way with 23 points while powering the United States’ tight comeback. Davis scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as a substitute. At one point, South Sudan led by as many as 16 points, powered by the efforts of former NBA point guard Carlik Jones, who had a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Former Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Marial Shayok scored a game-high 25 points for South Sudan.
“I don’t even pay attention to the Olympics,” O’Neal said. “I have a dominant personality. I don’t care what you’re like, whatever. My cousin Kenny just had this fight upstairs. My cousin said, ‘The world is getting closer,’ but I don’t think that’s the case.” [USA Basketball won an exhibition meeting with South Sudan 101-100]you only beat south sudan by one point. come on bro. this is never supposed to happen.
Armed with Kevin Durant, the Americans got their revenge when the games started counting in the group stage, beating the South Sudan team 103-86.
The NBA has truly expanded beyond the United States. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP, and Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time winner of the World Player of the Year, have played for Serbia and Greece, respectively. With James (39), Stephen Curry (36) and Kevin Durant (35) all expected to be past their prime by the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, Team USA looks more vulnerable than ever.
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