The triumph capped a brilliant tenure as Team USA head coach for Krzyzewski, who stepped down having guided the Americans to three consecutive Olympic gold medals. Hopefully, I do get an National Basketball Association ring, but that’s two things. “As much as I’m going to miss it, I think it’s time to pass it on to some of the guys who have been on the team this year”. He’ll also retire as the all-time leading scorer in men’s U.S. Olympic play with 336 points, as well as the program’s all-time leading rebounder.
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“They played better than us”, said Serbian centre Vladimir Simac. “It’s not just how they played, but how they acted and how unselfish they were”.
The final result was a 96-66 victory for the Americans, as they won their third straight Olympic gold medal. As if it would have sat any better here, these players certainly not thrilled by the prospect of sacrificing their summers and coming this far to be the Buffalo Bills. The U.S. women’s soccer team lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals, their earliest exit ever from either the Olympics or World Cup. I can’t let anybody steal my job. But it also says to me we need to continue with the continuity. If this was a seven-game series, Serbia would have absolutely no chance. That chance, however, was gone the moment Olympic officials made a decision to keep this as a basketball game and not a competition in beard-growing.
The host nation was still basking in Neymar’s kiss and impossible-to-forget penalty kick that secured the gold medal in soccer for Brazil. All together. As a group, like a class at the YMCA.
“I know this is the end”, he told NBC Sports. This is basketball, a game of the streets, not synchronized swimming, a game of the geeks. The Americans averaged a 22.5-point winning margin in the tournament. But one should be standing up in front of the 500-plus US athletes who competed here in Rio, particularly those whose events were in the second week, for stealing their thunder. The average margin of victory in Rio, for instance, was almost 10 points less than the 2012 incarnation, and they were pushed to the absolute brink in three consecutive games during group play by Australia, Serbia, and France. Krzyzewski was 88-1 as the USA head coach.
Spain 89, Australia 88: Not golden, not the Olympic medal it still covets, but Spain got something.
The U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team poses for a photo during a news conference.
See what happens when a basketball game gets stretched out like the waistband on a pair of Charles Barkley’s boxers.
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Despite not fielding its best possible roster, the USA marched to an 8-0 record in Rio with a plus-182 scoring differential and four victories by 20-plus points. With new teammates stepping in, the pressure will be on for the United States to continue their streak as defending champs, although Krzyzewski doesn’t seem anxious about handing off coaching responsibilities. But more important than records, Anthony expressed tearfully the revamped culture that Coach K and USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo have worked on so diligently since 2005.
