LILLE (France) - The first phase of the competition is behind us, meaning we can use the next couple of days to review everything that has happened over the past ten days at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
You want to know which teams are performing the best? It's probably time for you to go visit our Power Rankings:
You want to know which players are the most likely to end up with the MVP honors added to their CV? Click the MVP Ladder then:
But what about the others?
Here are the three unsung heroes of the group stage, one coming from each pool. These players may not be global superstars but they performed extremely well. And now every basketball fan on the planet knows who they are.
Group A: Jock Landale
You either talk about Patty Mills, or focus on the new kids on the block in Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels. But in reality, Jock Landale has been the most consistent player for Australia in France.
Sure, having an NBA player here is a stretch, but after averaging 4.9 points last season, and 6.6 the year before, not a lot of people expected Landale to go off for 17.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and efficiency rating of 24.7 per game here.
The 28-year-old center is currently the fourth most efficient player of the Olympics, trailing only Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama. Not bad at all, for somebody who's not the biggest star on his team.
Group B: Yuki Kawamura
At 23 years of age, he will run the Japanese offense for another decade at least, and with his constant improvement every summer, it's scary how good Yuki Kawamura could become.
With Rui Hachimura injured, Kawamura decided to take over and at times he looked like a superhero for Japan, scoring 20.3 points, with 7.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Kawamura was fifth in scoring and second in assists in the group stage, and he knocked down 40.6 percent of his threes on 10 attempts per game, which was a surprise for all of those not following the Japanese B.League.
Those following it, probably just shrugged their shoulders and said "he had almost the exact same numbers over the past 108 games and two seasons with Yokohama in Japan," meaning he averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds last season, and 19.5 points, 8.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds the year before.
Group C: Bul Kuol
Last year, as Nuni Omot, Wenyen Gabriel and Carlik Jones were making history at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, their teammate Bul Kuol had to watch from afar after suffering a wrist injury.
But missing out on that historical first major tournament appearance made him that much more motivated for the Olympics, and he was incredible for South Sudan in France.
He reached double digits in all three games, finishing with 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The best part of his game? He is automatic from beyond the arc.
Bul knocked down eight threes in three games, including four against the United States, and he attempted a total of 11 shots from the three-point range, meaning he finished the Olympics shooting 72.7 percent from deep!
After being born in a village next to a military base near the jungle, after growing up in refugee camp in Kenya, and moving to Australia when he was nine, the Olympic experience seems like something surreal for this 27-year-old.
Just another reason why coach Royal Ivey kept saying the story of South Sudan Basketball is like a movie.
Kuol will spend the next three years of his career with the Sydney Kings in Australia.
FIBA