The matchup everyone expected to be for the gold medal is coming earlier in these Olympics. While Team USA held up its end of the bargain, winning all five games in group play to finish first, Spain took the the first two games off and now has to face the best team in the tournament in the semifinals.
United States vs. Spain 2016, Olympic basketball: Time, TV schedule and team news for men’s semifinal
Team USA and Spain will once again face one another in a high stakes game.
Both squads are coming off easy quarterfinals victories and need to reach the gold medal round for their participation to be a success. That means Friday’s clash (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) has the potential to be a great one that could be even better than previous games between these two teams.
The game will be streamed live online via NBC Sports.
This will be the third time in the past three Olympics that these two teams have met. Team USA won the first two in the 2008 and 2012 gold medal games, but they were far from easy victories. Like no other opponent in the past 10 years, Spain has given the U.S. plenty of trouble thanks to its immense talent and superior size. While other teams are always at a huge talent and athletic disadvantage, the European giant has been able to come close to matching Team USA’s, which has resulted in some classic matchups.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, USA Basketball was looking to erase all doubts about the American supremacy in the sport after the defeat in Athens. To do so, some of the NBA's biggest stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade committed to what was known as the Redeem Team, a juggernaut that was expected to run roughshod over its opponents. They did just that up until the finals, where a terrific Spanish squad made them work for a 118-107 win.
The core of Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon and Felipe Reyes that was present in that game was the foundation of the 2012 squad that pushed the U.S. even harder. The additions of Serge Ibaka, Sergio Rodriguez and Sergio Llull gave Spain the young blood and athleticism it needed to keep the game close. Going into the fourth quarter of the gold medal game in London, Team USA led by just one point, before finally pulling away on their way to a 107-100 win.
Neither team is at full force in Rio, but both still have elite talent on their roster. Spain has continuity on its side, as Pau Gasol headlines a group of quality NBA players that have been competing together for a while that includes Rubio and Fernandez. Team USA has the edge in superstar power thanks to the presence of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, among others. All the ingredients are there for another classic confrontation between the two best teams in the world.
This third Olympics encounter has an air of finality to it, which makes it all the more intriguing. The U.S. is having trouble getting superstars to commit to four-year cycles with the national team, which means the unbeatable, star-filled squads might soon become a thing of the past once again. Gasol and the other players of his generation are likely participating in their last big tournament, and while there’s young talent coming in, it won’t likely reach the same heights.
Team USA might have more than one challenger in the future. Spain might become just another good team.
That might be the inevitable fate of international hoops over the next few years, but for now, we are getting another fantastic clash between juggernauts. For the U.S. a win means re-validating their superiority over even the best the rest of the world has to offer. For Spain, it would give their version of the Golden Generation a final moment of true greatness, which Team USA has denied them twice already.
It might not be for the gold medal, but the biggest game of the 2016 Rio Olympics will be played on Friday.
USA vs. Spain Olympic basketball semifinals info
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Streaming: NBC Sports
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