Brian Windhorst, ESPN Editor-in-Chief
LONDON — A movie will probably one day be made about South Sudan’s basketball team. And the players representing the young, war-torn nation added a powerful, dramatic moment Saturday night that the cheering crowd at the O2 Arena won’t soon forget.
LeBron James scored a layup with eight seconds left to prevent what could have been a historic upset, and Team USA came away with a 101-100 victory. Former Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor had a three-pointer with 20 seconds left, and South Sudan tried twice in the final seconds but failed to convert the miracle.
The Bright Stars, as they are known, who will be the first team to represent the country at the Olympics when they arrive in Paris next week, gave the American team an exciting and serious test.
South Sudan built a lead of as much as 16 points and threatened to pull off one of the biggest upsets ever seen in international basketball before Team USA pulled away.
James may have been interested in buying the film rights to the South Sudan story, but he was determined not to be on the losing team. James proved vicious in refusing the surprise attempt, aggressively seizing power when the United States was in dire straits.
He scored 25 points and made a series of great plays in a 23-5 run from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth. A powerful dunk that led to a three-point play and a three-pointer were crucial. Steph Curry made two three-pointers of his own — helping end a stretch in which Team USA missed 14 of 15 three-pointers that contributed to the deficit — during that period.
Anthony Davis, who had another strong game for Team USA in what has been a tour de force over the past three weeks, then made a series of plays to cap off a 15-point, 11-rebound performance.
South Sudan showed tremendous collective athleticism and fearlessness against a U.S. team that many South Sudanese players consider peers. Most of the South Sudanese players are descendants of refugees and grew up in North America or Australia.
They’re not exactly Cinderellas, but rather rejects, some of whom could be receiving calls from NBA teams in the coming days.
Point guard Carlik Jones was named the 2022-23 G League Player of the Year while signed with the Chicago Bulls but was released last year in a luxury deal to save money, despite being a top point guard at the World Cup in Manila. He played last season for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China.
All he did Saturday was post a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, even though he missed a crucial shot with four seconds left.
Marial Shayok, a 6-foot-5 guard who grew up in Ottawa, Canada, was selected in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 out of Iowa State and played just four career games before being released. He played for several years in Turkey and averaged 19 points last season with Shandong in China.
Shayok was the best player on the floor at times during Saturday’s game, scoring 24 points and making 6 of 12 3-pointers.
Thor, a 6-foot-2 power forward who starred at Auburn, played 165 games with the Charlotte Hornets over the past three seasons after being selected in the second round in 2021. The Hornets declined his option last month after he averaged 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 63 games last season.
Thor scored 14 points as a substitute for South Sudan.
Wenyan Gabriel has had many former teammates on Team USA. He played at Kentucky with Bam Adebayo, with Davis and James for the Los Angeles Lakers and briefly with Kevin Durant for the Brooklyn Nets. Gabriel has played 150 games with seven NBA teams, including just five last season on a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
He scored 11 points and put constant pressure on the American interior defense.
Khaman Maluach, who stands 7 feet 4 inches tall and has enormous potential, is the most prominent player in the group. The 18-year-old will play at Duke next year. Super agent Rich Paul was in London to see not only his clients James and Davis, but Maluach as well. He scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds.
Joel Embiid had his best game for Team USA, scoring 14 points.
