Paris 2024 basketball: USA vs. Germany to tip off in final group play game 

Germany and the United States will tip off in the finale of Group C play in women's basketball at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Sunday, 4 August in a game you won't want to miss.

Team USA, on a quest to win its eighth straight Olympic gold medal in women’s basketball, will seek to keep a 56-game Olympic winning streak alive against Germany, one of the biggest surprises of the women’s competition.

As expected, the United States handily won both of their Group C games. Using a significant height advantage, the U.S. won a 102-76 game over Japan on Monday. Though Belgium gave the U.S. a test on Thursday, the Americans still won 87-74. A’ja Wilson had a double-double in both games, and Breanna Stewart averaged 24 points.

This is Germany’s first trip to the Olympics, and they’ve made it memorable. They came into the Olympics ranked 19th in the world. Led by WNBA star Satou Sabally, Germany first upset Belgium, the 2023 EuroBasket champs, 83-69, and then beat 2020 silver medallists Japan by the score of 75-64.

Both teams are already qualified for the quarter-finals because they’ve both won two games in group play. The winner of this game will take first in Group C, earning a better spot in the draw for quarter-final games, while the loser will take second.

The game tips off at 11:15 a.m. EDT on Sunday, 4 August.

What to expect in the USA vs. Germany

We already saw a preview of this game as they faced off in a tune-up game in London on 23 July. USA won 84-57, holding Germany to 20 field goals on 68 attempts. The US controlled the boards and did a good job sharing the ball, racking up 27 assists.

But the German team playing in Lille, France this week has looked much stronger than the one that played in the exhibition against the Americans. Germany did a good job of forcing turnovers, including six steals, plus made five blocks. They need to lean into their ability to disrupt to try and stop Team USA’s many scoring weapons, while also creating scoring opportunities for Sabally, Leonie Fiebich and Alexis Peterson.

The USA needs to continue to play their game. When they play up-tempo basketball and aggressively in the paint, they win. Few teams have a bench as deep as the Americans, so they can push the pace as much as they want.

Players to watch

Alexis Peterson

Standing at 5-foot-5 (165 cm), Peterson doesn’t look like the kind of player who can disrupt games, but that’s exactly what she does. Peterson scored 11 points against Japan and 15 against Belgium, and has been to the free-throw line 10 times this tournament because she can draw contact. She’s made every free throw, too.

Napheesa Collier

Collier has averaged 19.5 points in the USA wins, but her bigger job is going to be on defence. She will have to help stop Sabally. The two know each other well, having played against each other in the WNBA for years. (They even nearly played together for Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague, but Sabally’s injury prevented that.)