Nicolas Batum called the 2024 Paris Olympics the craziest and weirdest tournament he has ever been a part of. He complimented Team USA but said the world was going to overtake them, and it's now just a question of when.
Nicolas Batum played his last game for the French national team. It was the Olympic final in front of the home crowd in the French capital, Paris. Although it didn't end with a win, the veteran forward was happy with the way the team played.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
24
|
| LeBron James | |
| Points | 14 |
| Accuracy | 6-10 |
| Rebounds | 6 |
| Assists | 10 |
"We lost against a great team, but we were right in that game. It was a 5-point game with two minutes to play. Steph was amazing to close out the game," he began at the post-game press conference.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points, hitting four three-pointers in the last minutes of the final. Overall, he hit 8 triples in 12 tries and 17 triples in the last two games - the semifinal and the final.
Not many believed France would even get to the final, as they barely won against Japan in overtime and handily lost to Germany in the group stage. Evan Fournier openly criticized the way the team was playing, while head coach Vincent Collet singled the player out for his opinion.
"7 days ago, who could've thought we would end up playing that game and being close to a team like that?" Batum rhetorically asked. "Coach and his group did a great job to regroup. Of course, we wanted to win, to create something special, but it's still a great accomplishment for our country."
"Did you see us last week? We were in a really bad shape. It was a weird tournament for us, but to be in this position, it's amazing. I've been playing for this team for 15 years, and this is the craziest, weirdest tournament I've ever played with the team," Batum said.
"We can have some regret. We can be proud of ourselves. It's a mix of emotions," he revealed. "But we are on the podium, and we can be proud of that. Nine great teams went home without anything, we got a medal. It was a crazy journey, crazy two weeks, but we can be proud."
Team USA was on the brink of losing against South Sudan in the friendly game in July. They had to battle back against Germany in a friendly as well.
Serbia pushed the US to the absolute limit in the semifinal, forcing them to come back after having a 17-point deficit. France played a great defensive game, limiting their chances and having an opportunity to win in the last minutes.
"FIBA is different. It's not the NBA. This is still the best team in the world. We are getting closer and closer. We are playing with pride and not giving the game away to them," Batum said about international teams playing the US.
"We are going to try to compete. We know it's going to be difficult, we're going to need a perfect game. We're going to get closer because we're not scared of them," he said. "Every team respects them but is not scared of them. We didn't beat them tonight because they are that good, but it's going to happen at some point."
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