Several basketball superstars representing Team USA at the upcoming Paris Olympics attempted to blend in with commuters while taking public transportation to an exhibition game.
On Saturday, forward Jayson Tatum , guard Derrick White and center Bam Adebayo opted to take the London Tube to Team USA’s game against South Sudan at the O2 Arena. In a short clip posted to Tatum’s snapchat, the trio of NBA players can be seen inside a packed train car alongside several team personnel before White declares: “We’re on the tube!”
Fans online quickly shared their thoughts on the hilarious scene. “Imagine hopping in the tube and you see team USA randomly chilling in there,” one TikTok user wrote, with another adding: “Bro what I would give to see the Celtics on the train.”
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Others questioned why the high-paid athletes decided to ride the tube instead of a more comfortable means of transportation. “Feels like there had to be another way, no?” An X user asked. “They seem too tall for the train looool,” someone else wrote.
This isn’t the first time that members of the Stars and Stripes have hopped on the tube. During the 2012 Summer Olympics, the USA “Dream Team” - which featured LeBron James, Kevin Durant , Carmelo Anthony, Steph Curry , James Harden and the late Kobe Bryant , among others - snapped a photo together while riding the London Underground at night.
Several hours after their tube ride, Tatum and co. narrowly avoided a historic upset to South Sudan, holding on for a 101-100 win after trailing by as many as 16 points.
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With eight seconds remaining in the contest, James drove to the basket and converted a contested layup to give Team USA the lead. The Los Angeles Lakers star finished the game with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
On the heels of the back-and-forth affair, Team USA coach Steve Kerr conceded that he failed to get his players ready for their matchup with South Sudan. "I did not do a great job preparing our team, I think we did not focus enough on what they're capable of and that's on me," he told reporters.
"They played a wonderful game and the ending was good for us just to feel that. To feel what it's going to be like in Paris and Lille. ... A good reminder that when we play against teams, it's the biggest game of their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that."
Curry drew both pros and cons from the near-historic defeat, telling reporters: "We can be beat if we don't play our brand of basketball. And our brand of basketball is playing defense.
"We didn't make them uncomfortable at all the first half and they took advantage of it. But we also learned we have that gear if we can find it, no matter who's out there on the court, we can overwhelm teams for 40 minutes and it's a great reminder of both."
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