Nigeria's basketball team pulls off a major pre-Olympics upset, beating the U.S. men's team 90-87 with a roster primarily filled with little-known NBA players.
Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either.
If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. on Saturday night. Nigeria beat the U.S. 90-87, pulling off an international shocker with a roster primarily filled of little-known NBA players that found a way to defeat a group of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract performers.
Ike Iroegbu — a former Washington State player who spent some time in the G League — hit a 3-pointer with about 1:15 left to put Nigeria up 88-80. Kevin Durant scored the next seven points for the U.S.; a 3-pointer, two free throws following a turnover, then two more from the line with 16.5 seconds remaining.
Gabe Nnamdi made two foul shots with 13.2 seconds left to restore Nigeria’s 3-point edge. The Americans ran 9.7 seconds off the clock on the ensuing possession without getting a shot off, and Zach LaVine missed a pair of free throws — the second intentionally — with 3.5 seconds left.Precious Achiuwa got the rebound for Nigeria, and that was it. It’s only an exhibition — but the upset was still of the massive variety. U.S.
The Americans had gone 39-0 in their last three Olympic seasons — including pre-Olympic exhibitions -- on their way to gold medals and had been 54-2 in major exhibitions since NBA players began playing for USA Basketball in 1992. Plus, they’d beaten Nigeria by a combined 127 points in their last two meetings, one at the 2012 London Games, the other a warm-up for the 2016 Rio Games.
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