(Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)

USA Basketball Team Coach Steve Kerr admitted to underestimating South Sudan and praised his opponents, after a thrilling 101-100 warm-up match on Saturday saw his men surviving defeat in the dying seconds thanks to NBA great LeBron James.

The United States are a global basketball powerhouse and stand at number one according to the 2024 FIBA ranking.

They remain the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all nineteen Olympic tournaments they have entered, including sixteen golds.

On top of that, the USA roster for the Paris Olympic Games, which faced South Sudan on Saturday, is arguably the strongest in the history of the tournament, and has been compared to the ‘Dream Team’ of 1992.

But had it not been for just 8 seconds of LeBron James’ madness, that star-studded squad featuring active NBA players would have faced the biggest upset in the history of international basketball.

Addressing a post-match press conference in London, Team USA coach Steve Kerr admitted that they underestimated South Sudan.

“First of all, I did not do a great job, I think we did not focus enough on what they are capable of and that’s on me, and I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early and once we turned it up in the second half,” he said.

“They had already knocked down a bunch of threes and were feeling really good about themselves.”

He said the Bright Stars were amazing during the game and commended his counterpart Royal Ivey and his staff for developing the team.

“They were great. They played a wonderful game and the ending was good for us. To feel what it’s going to be like in Paris and Lille.”

“So good experience for us, good reminder that when we play against team who know it is the biggest games of their lives, we have to expect everyone to play like that.

“So it is on me and our staff to have our guys more prepared in the next games.”

The Bright Stars had a comfortable 16-point lead towards the end of the second quarter, and were confidently eyeing to maintain their dominance in the last two quarters of the game as the USA struggled and missed shots from range.

But legendary LeBron James spoiled the party in the last minute – leading USA with 23 points by finishing off multiple plays with statement dunks.

LeBron shared his views and admitted facing a test in the friendly match against South Sudan as he walked down the tunnel after salvaging a win.

“To be honest, I like those ones better than the blowouts. At least we get tested. I like getting tested baby,” James said to a reporter.

Royal Ivey’s men already hammered Great Britain and Portugal in their last two preparatory matches, while groupmates USA have had a perfect run, having beaten Canada, Australia and South Sudan.

In Group C of the Paris Olympics, South Sudan will face USA again on July 28, amid a thrilling rematch with tough World Cup opponents Puerto Rico and Serbia.

Following the match, Head Coach Ivey said, in a press conference, that he was happy with the performance of his team which, according to him, showed resilience and competitiveness.

“My guys came out with the right mindset and focus. They competed from start to finish. These guys are resilient, they’re focused, they’re tenacious. I wanted them to compete, and that’s what they did,” he said.

The Bright Stars surged to the top of African basketball and fielded an extraordinary show of class in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, making them the continent’s only competitors in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

South Sudan Basketball Federation President Luol Deng has been accredited with the success of the Bright Stars, having built the team from scratch, and mobilized players from the diaspora.

Mr. Deng is also dealing with insufficient funding of the national team and is said to be using his own money to buy equipment and foot the team’s travels.