Australia entered the 2024 Paris Olympics looking to make a serious bid for a gold medal despite being a bit undermanned compared to a few other nations.
It qualified for the quarterfinals of the knockout round, and there, it took on Serbia.
Despite taking a sizable first-half lead, Australia let it get away and ultimately lost in overtime, 95-90.
Josh Giddey, who scored 25 points, was heartbroken by the loss, and he remarked that it “kills” him that he will “have to wait four more years for another chance at this,” via Legion Hoops.
Josh Giddey on Australia being eliminated from the Olympics:
“It kills me that I have to wait 4 more years for another chance at this.”
(via @apiotrowski9) pic.twitter.com/cugq1eE5z2
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 7, 2024
This was Australia’s only loss in these Olympics after winning three games in group play, and it came at the worst possible time.
Though Patty Mills made a game-saving shot with two seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Australia then took a 90-87 lead on a jumper by Giddey, it wasn’t able to hold on.
Giddey is seen as a rising star in the NBA who can play multiple positions while serving as something of a point forward at times.
This past season, he averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 25.1 minutes a game for an Oklahoma City Thunder team that finished tied for the best record in the Western Conference.
Earlier this summer, the Thunder traded him to the Chicago Bulls for veteran guard Alex Caruso, who is a defensive dynamo and an improving 3-point shooter.
Giddey will now be tasked with helping to resuscitate a Bulls team that has been stuck in the wilderness for many years.
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