Nigeria Shocks the USA Basketball Team in Exhibition Match, 90-87

The US basketball team lost its first prep game before the Tokyo Olympics against Nigeria, 90-87. This is one of the biggest sensations ever in the history of basketball.

According to the bookies, Nigeria was a 30-point underdog coming into this matchup. The US team defeated them with a combined difference of 127 points in the previous two clashes, 83 at the London Olympics, and 44 points in the 2016 friendly game.

Still, in tonight’s matchup, that wasn’t the case. Even though the Americans had a 14-point lead, Nigeria came back in the third period and successfully held on their minimal edge, before breaking the US team in the finish. Kevin Duran led the final push, but Gregg Popovich’s boys’ couldn’t flip the result, suffering one of the most unexpected losses in their history.

“I thought that the Nigerian team played very physically, did a great job in that regard and knocked down a lot of 3s,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “Give them credit.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Db4x6e1NM

The Nigerians dropped 20 threes in 43 attempts, which was twice as many as their rivals, who had 10 in 25 shots from deep. Miami Heat’s Gabe Vincent scored six of them, ending the match with 21 points, being remarkably good on both ends of the floor.

Vincent, whose original name is Gabe Nnamdi, scored the decisive two shots from the foul line with 13.2 seconds to go, pushing his team to a three-point distance and setting the final score. Once the final buzzer sounded, the Nigerians started celebrating, while on the other end, the US team was pretty down, as it experienced only the third loss in the exhibition matches since introducing pros.

Kevin Durant scored only 17 points, shooting 4-for-13 from the field. Precious Achiuwa stopped the two-time NBA Finals MVP on his way to dunk in the first half, which was the highlight of the game. Achiuwa swiped Durant at the glass, sending the Nets’ forward on the ground.

Jayson Tatum had 15 buckets, Damian Lillard 13, and Bam Adebayo 11.

“First game. It’s our first game playing together, trying to get a rhythm. Trying to get a feel for the game, for each other,” said Tatum following the match. “Trying to get into the flow, get in shape. So we’re trying to figure a lot of things out.”

Final score in Las Vegas!

Nigeria defeats #USABMNT 90-87 in exhibition play in preparation for Tokyo.

Gabe Vincent: 21 PTS, 6 3PM
Kevin Durant: 17 PTS, 5 REB
Jayson Tatum: 15 PTS, 7 REB pic.twitter.com/QRmBKOGM5g

— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2021

Nigeria has seven players with NBA experience, plus Mike Brown, who was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the LA Lakers and is now the Golden State Warriors associate head coach.

Over the past few years, Nigeria and all the other African countries have made massive progress and are expected to make an ever bigger and more powerful breakthrough when it comes to results. Tonight’s match was the first one where one African nation defeated the US team, and it could easily be the turning point in world basketball.

On the other side, it is a wake-up call for Popovich’s boys, who need to understand that the gap between them and the rest of the units is not as big as everyone believes. The American players have to give 100% of their power when playing each match. Otherwise, defeats like this might become regular.

USA national team is in Group A at the Tokyo Olympics, along with Iran, France, and the Czech Republic. Just to remind you that the French team defeated the USA at the 2019 World Cup in China.