America Fails to Medal at FIBA (Despite Mikal’s Miracle)

We got the dream matchup we were hoping for - Team USA vs. Canada - however, it was in the Bronze Medal Game, as opposed to the championship. 

After America and Canada both lost Friday, which meant neither club would have a chance to take home gold, the North American neighbors slugged it out on Sunday. 

Canada led most of the way, and it looked like they had locked up a victory when Dillion (Villain) Brooks knocked down a pair of free throws to put his team up four with eight seconds left. Yet, after Austin Reaves missed a quick jumper, Mikal Bridges grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled attempting a shot. This sent Bridges to the free-throw stripe, where he pulled off one of the most miraculous sequences you’ll ever see. 

After making the first freebie, Bridges intentionally missed the second, grabbed his own rebound, dashed the corner and flung up a three-point attempt while spinning towards the hoop. Incredibly, the shot dropped with less than a second left on the clock, sending the game to overtime.  

However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the extra session, scoring seven consecutive points to lead his side to a 127-118 victory. SGA finished the contest with 31 points (11-of-20 FGs, 8-of-8 FTs), six rebounds and 12 assists. There are plenty of storylines to take away from the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but SGA announcing himself as a true superstar is among the main takeaways. Over the eight games Canada played in the tournament, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists while shooting 54% from the field. The kid has an NBA MVP in his future.

Dillon Brooks also played very well for Canada, who won their first major international medal since the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Brooks racked up a whopping 39 points vs. USA (12-of-18 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs) while chipping in four rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and seven 3-pointers.

Big congrats to Canada.

🏀 The good news for US Knicks fans was that RJ Barrett also stepped up in the biggest game his country has played in a century. RJ tallied 23 points, seven boards and two dimes. He shot 8-of-16 from the field, 4-of-8 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe on Sunday. His final three-pointer came late in overtime and sealed the victory for Canada. He posted a +21 plus/minus (the second-best +/- in the game). 

Overall, RJ had an up-and-down tournament. He had some clunkers (including two games in which he scored five points or less and converted less than 13% of his FG attempts) but also strung together several solid outings to close out his time overseas and help power Canada to bronze. Over his final three games, Barrett averaged 23.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 made three-pointers, while shooting over 49% from the floor. And after struggling mightily from the free-throw line early in FIBA play (making just three of his first ten attempts), RJ converted 14 of his final 17 freebies (82.3%). 

Leaving Manilla with a medal as the second-leading scorer on a historic Canadian club that beat Team USA should help Barrett enter training camp later this month with plenty of confidence.

 

🏀 As for the Knicks on the American side, they obviously head home disappointed. Jalen Brunson scored 13 points vs. Canada and surely isn’t overjoyed with his performance in the Philippines.