Paris 2024 Olympics: Wembanyama saves the day for France, but Japan walks away with respect after overtime loss
Improbable four-point play in the final seconds helped France send the game into overtime, then 20-year-old sensation Victor Wembanyama took over to avoid a major upset in the best game of the Olympic men's basketball tournament so far.
Japan was one defensive stand, one missed shot, one break from pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament, but the host nation had other ideas, ultimately prevailing 94-90 in front of 26,900 at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
An improbable four-point play, a phantom foul, and then the brilliance of Wembanyama, last summer's No. 1 NBA draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs, washed away all hopes for the Japanese.
Japan, without its best player in Rui Hachimura, who was ejected for his second unsportsmanlike foul, jumped on the back of 5-foot-8-inch point guard Kawamura Yuki, who made play after play to bring Japan to the brink of victory. His two free throws gave Japan an 84-80 lead with 16.4 second left.
Then the drama began. French guard Matthew Strazel, not known for his scoring, reared back for a three-pointer in front of the Japan bench. Not only did he drain the contested shot, he was fouled by Kawamura, and sank the free throw for the four-point play.
Japan was essentially done after that game-changing shot, and Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 wunderkind who was quiet for most of the second half, activated in overtime with eight points in the 94-90 win. It would have been a crushing loss for France, which has gold medal hopes but was outplayed for most of the evening by the energetic Japanese.
“They were playing like underdogs; we were waiting for them to punch a little too much, so I wanted to make a point and punch first in overtime,” Wembanyama said. “It worked, you know.”
Wembanyama finished with a team-high 18 points along with 11 rebounds and six assists, but the smaller Japanese were physical and gritty in the paint, neutralizing him and Rudy Gobert at times. The improbable became the probable with 6-foot-9 Hugh Watanabe snuffing the 7-foot-1 Gobert at the rim and Kawamura splashing threes from all over the floor.
Hachimura, Japan’s only NBA player, committed two unsportsmanlike fouls in the span of five minutes, 17 seconds, including the final one with 8:31 left that led to his ejection. That didn’t stop Japan, which kept challenging France in the paint and using stifling defense, to force questionable shots.
“They definitely mastered their style,” Wembanyama said. “Of course, I don’t think we’ve experienced such a team. We’ve got to give props, give respect to [them]. They really know how to use their strengths. We could learn from them.”
Japan walked away knowing it blew a chance for the biggest stunner of the tournament, but did push France to the brink without its best player.
“We’ve been kind of on a mission; Japan plays good basketball,” coach Tom Hovasse said. “We gave it a good run in the World Cup. Japan fans are just really behind us and I’m glad we could play like this on the world stage so that the fans could see it.
“Japan basketball is definitely on the rise. I kind of want it to be one of the top two or three sports in Japan. Ten years ago that would have never had a chance, but we have a chance now.”
Gary Washburn is an Olympic Channel correspondent and national NBA writer for the Boston Globe.