Team USA’s bid for a third consecutive FIBA World Cup is over after it suffered a surprise defeat against France in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The Americans arrived into the knockout stages with a perfect 5-0 record but came unstuck against the Les Bleus, losing 89-79 in Dongguan.
The defeat halted Team USA’s 58-game winning run in competitive matches with NBA players on the roster, which stretched all the way back to 2006.
Back then, Team USA lost to Greece in what was then known as the FIBA World Championship, before winning the third-place playoff game against Argentina.
A roster that lacked the star power of previous iterations of Team USA has been the talking point throughout the tournament.
At the 2016 Olympics, Team USA had five All-Star guards on its roster, in the shape of Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler.
Unsurprisingly, the lack of options at Gregg Popovich’s disposal was a hot topic on social media as the American media and public digested a rare defeat.
On Wednesday, the two-time defending champions trailed by six points at the halfway mark, the first time the U.S. had trailed at halftime in the tournament.
Popovich’s team roared back in the third quarter thanks to Donovan Mitchell’s 14 points and entered the final period with a slender three-point lead.
That, however, was as good as it got for the Americans, who scored 13 points to France’s 27 in the final quarter.
Les Bleus trailed by three points with just over five minutes left before going on an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take an 82-76 lead.
The scoring burst proved decisive as the defending champions racked up a meager five points in the final seven minutes, with Marcus Smart and Walker both missing two free throws each in the closing stages.
Smart finished with 11 points, while Walker had 10 points and four assists. The only other Team USA player in double figures was Mitchell, who top-scored with 29 points, adding six rebounds and four assists.
Evan Fournier led France with 22 points, Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds and Nando DeColo added 18 points.
In the other semifinal, Spain will play the winner of the last quarterfinal, which pits Australia against the Czech Republic.