I’ve watched the entire 6 episodes of the latest Netflix documentary entitled “Court of Gold” and here’s the reason why I believe this is the best Olympic sports documentary ever made. Spoilers warning ahead!
What’s Past is Prolonged: Canada, Serbia, France and USA
“Court of Gold” follows the Olympic journey of 4 countries in the Men’s Basketball Tournament during the 2024 Paris Olympics as the episodes progresses, fans are treated to a history lesson about the past of the competing squads.
Former basketball stars who once represented their respective countries were featured in the series. For Canada, 2x NBA MVP Steve Nash made an appearance as well as Rowan Barrett, the father of current Toronto Raptors star player, RJ Barrett. Both players have shared their thoughts on what it’s like competing in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Rowan Barrett currently serves as the General Manager of the Canadian basketball team. Serbia, formerly known back then as Yugoslavia dominated the Olympic basketball stage before the Yugoslavia War happened in 1991 to 2001. Former Sacramento Kings legend, Vlade Divac shared his story on what it’s like being part of the most dominant European team ever assembled and winning the gold in 1980.
The host nation France had the two of the best players to ever represent the country appear in the series and these are Tony Parker and Boris Diaw. Both Diaw and Parker played in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics and even revealed that Boris Diaw is actually the Team Captain during those years and not Tony. France both ended as the 6th place in the mentioned Olympic years. The two shared what the Basketball Development Program of France has developed throughout the years as well as improving the talent that their roster has in recent years.
Then the stars of the U.S., Dwyane Wade who was part of the disappointing 2004 Bronze Medal team and in the “Redeem Team” which won the gold last 2008 shared his thoughts about the level of competition Team USA faces in the new decade. While 4x Olympian, Carmelo Anthony shared how different this Team USA is compared to the previous teams he had been a member of. Melo is a 3x Gold Medalist and participated in the Olympics from 2004 to 2016.
Heck, even former US President Barack Obama made an appearance in the series as he shared his “fan moments” supporting Team USA.
No Underdog Mentality
The behind the scenes footage solidified the mentality of the players that no matter how big of a deficit their squad is facing, they can turn the tide and still win the game. We’ve seen that in the games of France, Canada, and USA as they mount some of their games during the elimination round and in the knockout stage.
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Dillion Brooks of Canada have given their personal way of motivating their team in order to win the game. Even the Head Coach of Canada, Jordi Fernandez has said multiple times in the series that he and the coaching staff will handle the foul calls that they believe are “unfair”. More importantly, no team is scared to face their opponents regardless if it’s a team led by LeBron James of the United States.
3x NBA MVP and NBA Champion Nikola Jokic of Serbia has shared his thoughts on how to contain and stop players from the U.S. more specifically Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis. When their team faced Team USA both during the Elimination Round and Semifinals, they were confident that they could win the games and were unfaced on the talent and skill level of their opponents.
This goes the same when France faced Canada in the Quarterfinals as they faced a team that had 10 NBA players on their lineup. Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and Victor Wembanyama were very vocal during the halftime and pregame huddles telling their squad to stick to their game plan and adjusting to the defense played against them.
3 Headed Beast: Durant, Curry and LeBron
No doubt, a team headlined by 3 basketball legends can never be beaten. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and LeBron James are the main protagonists in the entire journey that this American squad has gone through.
Fans only see these 3 players in a team during NBA All-Star Games and during some of those occasions, they’re not even trying hard to win. But this time it’s different. We were able to bear witness to how great these players are on the world stage competing against the best of the best. More importantly, Steph Curry proved to everyone that he’s the best shooter and Point Guard of all as he showcased a masterclass performance in the Semis against Serbia and France during the Finals.
The result? Just another gold medal in the hardware for these gentlemen as they go 6 wins and 0 losses in the entire tournament.
The Alien Will Return
Just like an Avengers movie, the last scene we see before the credits roll is Victor Wembanyama speaking to the media after the loss in the Gold medal match he goes “I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in the next couple of years”. When asked if he meant FIBA opponents or the NBA, Wemby just responded “everywhere”.
The World, most especially Team USA, better prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
https://www.olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-basketball-men-wembanyama-france-japan
