Team USA gets handed a shocking loss by Nigeria in men’s basketball exhibition
Las Vegas, Nevada - The United States Men’s basketball team suffered a rare loss on Saturday to the Nigerian National Team, in a pre-Olympic friendly game that was more humbling than expected.
Team USA lost to Nigeria 90-87, despite being considered heavy favorites. Even though it was just an exhibition game. Saturday’s game was also historic in its own right, as this was the first time that a team from an African nation defeated Team USA. This match-up was meant to showcase America’s best, but instead it was more telling of how the rest of the world has been gearing up to take down the best team in international play.
Since 1992, Team USA’s roster has been filled with nothing but the best from the NBA, however, this year’s Nigerian national team boasts five NBA players of its own, a vital part of their upset win over the Americans.
The Miami Heat’s Gabe Vincent (25), a mostly unfamiliar name in the league, led Nigeria with 21 points, having much of that coming from shooting 6-8 from behind the three-point line. His team shot very well overall from behind the arc, scoring 60 of their 90 total points from threes. Their overall defense was worth noticing as well,
The Americans are will be led by huge names at the upcoming Olympics and are expecting to add more star power once Devin Booker, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday are done with the NBA Finals. But Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Jason Tatum couldn’t do much to ensure a better outing on Saturday, as they came together to shoot 9-for-30. It appears that even though Team USA has been having a successful training camp, they still need to establish the right chemistry for success.
The US Men’s squad have now lost only three times since 1992, but the current team is still projected to win a medal going into the Tokyo summer games.
Cover photo: IMAGO / Annegret Hilse