Team USA is in the Olympics men's basketball finals once again. This doesn't come much as a surprise given the way Kevin Durant and his team has played in the last few games. They will now clash with France in the gold-medal game. The gold medal is the goal and Team USA go into the final as the favorites.
However, France too has put up a stellar show in the Tokyo Olympics that included handing Team USA a shock defeat in the opening match of Group A at the Tokyo Olympics on July 25. Here's all you need to know about the Olympic Men's Basketball finals.
Big-Ticket Match
Despite the shock defeat to France in the group match, Team USA go into the finals with a lot of confidence after beating arch rivals Spain in the quarter-final and Australia in the semifinal. Durant's team faced some initial difficulties connecting from downtown (1-7), but then he led Team USA with 23 points as the Americans defeated Australia 97-78 to advance to the finals.
Team USA will continue to bank on Durant, who is in great form. Last week, Durant surpassed Carmelo Anthony to become Team USA's all-time leading scorer at the Olympics, and now he will be aiming for the coveted gold. Moreover, against the Czech Republic, which USA won 119-84, Durant's offense made him the top scorer in Team USA men's basketball history.
France too will be brimming with confidence given that they are fresh form a win against Team USA. Moreover, France comes hot off a win by the smallest of margins, beating Slovenia in a 90-89 game. Defense won the game for them, with a late-game block from Nicolas Batum.
When and Where
This will be the sixth time the two teams will be meeting. Team USA are the slight favorites in head-to-head clashes, having won on three occasions, while France have won twice to this day. Of the total five meetings so far, three have been at various Olympics, including one at the group stage in this edition of the games.
The 2020 Olympic Men's Basketball Final between Team USA vs France will be played on Friday, August 6, 2021, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo at 10:30 PM ET; 9:30 PM CT; 8:30 PM MT and 7:30 PM PT.
How to Watch Online
NBC is airing the Tokyo Olympic matches in the United States. The gold-medal match between Team USA and France will be also aired on NBC. You can watch the game live on NBC, the NBC website, NBC's Roku channel, or via the NBC app.
However, a valid cable login will be required to watch the match. If you have a valid cable connection, you can stream the game live on the NBC Sports app or NBCOlympics.com.
The Peacock streaming service is free to watch with ads, or one can pay a monthly charge of $4.99 for Peacock Premium which is ad-free. The paid subscription is required to watch Team USA basketball games.
The Team USA vs France Olympic Final can also be watched live with an active subscription to an over-the-top streaming service that offers NBC, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV (in select markets), and AT&T TV NOW.
