NEW YORK (USA) - Serbia did not achieve their aim of beating the USA in their Olympic showdown with a spot in the Gold Medal Game at stake yet one very important person watching the game was worried they might.
"I have to tell you, Serbia got me nervous," said the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. "And I guarantee you it got the coaches nervous, too."
In an interview on The Young Man and The Three podcast, Obama talked about how good international basketball is with teams like Serbia boasting incredible talents like three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
"Look, Jokic is a beast," Obama said. "He is as smart and effective a player and he's big, right?
"So its not just that he's kind of a blend of, he's got the vision like Larry Bird and he's like (Domas) Sabonis's dad. You (interviewer Tyrese Haliburton) know the young Sabonis, his dad (Arvydas) played that like.
"But he's (Jokic) also just a big man, so he can just bang people in and he's got great hands and touch, and then all their (Serbia's) perimeter guys were shooting the lights out. So yes, I was ... I didn't think we were going to lose, but I also thought there was a possibility that we might."
It's a testimony to how international basketball has just improved year after year after year.
In the pulsating Semi-Final that had the USA on the ropes, Serbia made 15 of 39 (38.5 percent) of their shots from 3-point range, led by Aleksa Avramovic, who buried 4 of 6 (66.7 percent).
What prevented Serbia from winning the game was Steph Curry and his 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) shooting from deep.
"I liked what Ant (USA's Anthony Edwards) said about Steph," Obama said. "He said, 'Glad you decided to show up these last three days' because Steph basically kept ya'll in the game in the first half and he finally went off."
Curry finished with 36 points in the USA's 95-91 triumph. Curry then scored 24 points in the Final against France after making 8 of 12 3-pointers.
It took an extraordinary effort from Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the rest of the players for the USA to reach the top of the podium in Paris in what was arguably the greatest Olympic tournament of all time.
"Overall, it's a testimony to how international basketball has just improved year after year after year," Obama said.
"And it's tough for you guys (Haliburton and USA) to play against teams that are playing together all the time, and nobody doubts that the US has the most talent but it doesn't have the same experience of 'here's how we're playing together.'"
FIBA