Team USA’s 58-game win streak is over. The Americans dropped their FIBA World Cup battle with France in an 89-79 loss on Wednesday morning, marking the United States’ first international competition without a gold medal since 2006.
How did the French pull off the upset? A certain All-NBA center is to thank. Rudy Gobert completely stifled Team USA in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, deterring the Americans at the rim at every turn. Perhaps a more formidable USA squad could attack Gobert and the French defense, especially one armed with either elite isolation scorers (hello, James Harden) or athletic marvels like Anthony Davis.