Team USA's come-from-behind win over Serbia in the 2024 Olympic basketball tournament is currently the talk of the town.
The Americans came back from a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter to pull off a 95-91 win and advance to the gold medal game against host France on Saturday. After the game, most of the basketball conversation revolved around Steph Curry's 36-point explosion or the fact that SC, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant scored the final 13 points of Team USA en route to victory.
However, former Los Angeles Lakers player Nick Young had a different take on the game. Young looked at it from the perspective of the big men. After watching Joel Embiid battle Nikola Jokic, Swaggy P. was convinced that JoJo is the best big man in the NBA, not the Joker.
Joel played better than Nikola
Jokic is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA today. Nikola has been named NBA MVP in three out of the last four seasons. He also led the Denver Nuggets to its first-ever NBA championship in 2023.
In the current Olympic basketball tournament, the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA Draft ranks first overall in assists, rebounds, and steals while also being in the Top 5 in scoring. Jokic had another big game on Thursday with 17 points, five rebounds, 11 assists, one steal, and one block. But he shot just 7-17 from the floor and was a -10 in plus/minus when he was on the floor.
On the other hand, Embiid scored 19 points on 8-11 shooting, including 2-3 from three-point distance, while also pulling down four rebounds and dishing two assists. Joel was also a +15 when Steve Kerr put him on the court.
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Embiid should've just focused on the Sixers
JoJo's participation in the 2024 Olympics has been a subject of criticism. 2004 NBA champion Rasheed Wallace said that Joel is not yet 100% healthy, and given his injury history, it would have been better if he had just skipped the Summer Games and focused on the upcoming NBA season.
"This is the Olympics…No, sit down, dog," said Wallace on the Sheed and Tyler Show. "Like you just got all this bread, bro. No disrespect to the Olympics and Olympic Games, all that, but hey man, to me in this world, hey, this NBA title is more important than, you know, getting that gold medal. Yo, go ahead and rest up."
Well, Embiid proved Sheed and his other doubters wrong on Thursday. With Team USA winning, he also improved his head-to-head record against the Serbian star to 9-2, all-time. No question, Joel got the better of the Nikola on Thursday. But with all respect to Young, Jokic is still the best big man - not just in the NBA but on the entire planet.
Related: "If they lose this game, their legacies take a hit" - Nick Wright reacts to Steph, KD, and LeBron leading Team USA to comeback vs. Serbia
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