Day two of men’s basketball at Paris 2024 featured a pair of games on Sunday 28 July at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille. While the United States began their quest for a fifth consecutive gold medal, South Sudan made a statement by winning their first Olympic basketball game in the nation’s brief history.

South Sudan, also known as the Bright Stars, defeated Puerto Rico 90-79 behind 19 points and seven rebounds from guard Carlik Jones, supported by Marial Shayok with 15 points of his own. The duo of Jose Alvarado (26) and Tremont Waters (18) combined for 44 points. The difference in the game, however, was the rebounding of South Sudan. The Bright Stars grabbed 55 rebounds and had 24 second-chance points compared to 37 rebounds and two second-chance points by Puerto Rico.

Team USA began their campaign for a fifth straight gold medal with a decisive 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia. This collection of NBA stars, who looked susceptible during their undefeated warm-up series ahead of the Games, certainly looked like a team capable of winning gold. Shots were falling early and often from downtown as the United States shot a scorching 18 for 32 from the floor.

Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, tallied 20 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four steals in the loss. Kevin Durant and LeBron James combined for 44 points for Team USA. Durant, who is the United States’ men’s all-time leader in Olympic scoring, did not play in any of the team’s five tune-up games but still came off the bench to shoot a ridiculous 89 per cent from the field.