PARIS — From breakfast with Giannis to a nightcap with LeBron, it was the greatest day in basketball history to take place in a single location.
The Bercy Arena is better known for hosting tennis and handball tournaments so it might seem an unlikely venue for a moment like this, but welcome to the Olympic basketball quarter-finals, 13 hours of frenetic basketball action like you’ve never seen before.
Nothing against a great state high school tournament or a Final Four or even Rucker Park, but Tuesday felt like the first day of March Madness at some subregional venue in that all four games were packed with 15,000-plus fans, not a bunch of empty seats because one team’s cheerleaders were out to dinner.
And in these games, the best players in the world displayed the most skilled and sophisticated basketball imaginable.
Oh, and there were no TV timeouts, so the match lasted about two hours.
This was just basketball.
Germany beat Greece in a match that began at 11 a.m. local time, then Serbia stormed back to beat Australia in overtime, France dominated Canada in front of a rapt home crowd, and finally, the United States closed out the day with a 122-87 victory over Brazil just before midnight.
It wasn’t much of a challenge for the U.S., led by Devin Booker with 18 points. The U.S. used their depth and talent to overpower Brazil and avoid the slow starts that have plagued them here. The only blemish was when LeBron inadvertently took an elbow above his eye, requiring four stitches. Still, the U.S. seems to be peaking at the right time. The timing is good, as the challenge will be considerable as the U.S. seeks a fifth consecutive championship.
Thursday’s semifinals, featuring Germany vs. France and the U.S. vs. Serbia, are likely to be more intense — or at least we can hope for more.
In other words, when 15-year NBA veteran Patty Mills knocks down a fallaway jump shot over the outstretched hand of three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic to send Australia vs. Serbia into overtime and the entire crowd starts stomping their feet, yelling and waving flags, it’s like being in basketball heaven.
Fourteen 2024 NBA All-Stars played at the Belcy Arena on Tuesday, including six players who have won 13 of the last 16 NBA MVP awards: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Joel Embiid.
Needless to say, Victor Wembanyama was also on the court.
Every player played like it was Game 7, because it was Game 7. A one-off knockout game with everything at stake, from national prestige to a chance at a medal. There were hard fouls. There were battles through screens. There were battles on the block. And there was passing, shooting, slashing and panache.
The excitement of the games, the excitement of the fans, the excitement unleashed by the five Olympic rings.
You could hear it in the voices of veterans who had been through it all. This was something like no other.
“Honestly, I’m tired,” said Bogdan Bogdanovic, a Serbian player who played in the NBA for seven years.
“These are the best basketball players in the world,” said Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, last season’s NBA MVP runner-up. “It’s a very tough competition, if not the toughest competition.”
Each game brought fresh crowds, each team a fresh dose of patriotism and energy, and while they couldn’t beat France here, chants of “USA, USA” and “BRA-zil” rang out everywhere by the end of the game, the result was never in doubt.
Of course, the Serbs are ready to blow the roof off of any building.
“We are a passionate country,” Vasilije Micic explained. “Passionate people.”
This ticket will likely be one of the most sought-after when Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympics in 2028.
David Stern would have loved every amazing play and ear-splitting scream: He put together the 1992 Dream Team to inspire the world to take up basketball, and 32 years later, that’s what happened.
The U.S. remains the favorite to win the Olympic gold medal, but the competition is not only closer but more diverse. It’s no longer a big game where one team plays the U.S.; the drama and rivalry is between the teams. The celebrations of advancement are real. Every game is an elite match.
The Canada-France match felt like it was being played at the Cameron Indoor or Old Trafford, with the hosts drumming, singing and chants.
NBA players were everywhere, but it was the EuroLeague stars and Australian Basketball League stars who made the difference.
Of course, we all know about Wenby and Rudy Gobert, but Victor only had seven points and Gobert missed most of the game recovering from finger surgery.
But none of that mattered. When France put 6-foot-9, 256-pound Mathias Lesort and 6-foot-8, 271-pound Guerschon Yabusele in the game, the Canadians struggled to stay alive in their chin straps, all the while an inquisitive French crowd roared with delight.
If the U.S. faces France in the gold medal final, which is quite likely, it will be more than just an away game.
“I’m home,” said France’s Frank Ntilikina. “I’m home.”
It is a platform that demonstrates the Olympic Games’ potential to become a truly global competitive arena and an environment like no other.
Now the tournament is special: future Hall of Famers diving for loose balls, MVPs battling for rebounds and unlikely heroes knocking down 3-pointers as the national anthem is sung.
Olympic basketball was here in full force with the greatest four-point header on the greatest day in basketball history…at least until they do it again in Los Angeles.
