LeBron James was literally stunned by France’s performance in Saturday’s men’s basketball final.
In the final minutes of the second quarter, with the U.S. leading 40-33, Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele received a pass on the right wing just outside the 3-point line.
He quickly faked a handoff to protect former Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina, then ran downhill past his defender, Kevin Durant, and Ntilikina’s defender, Devin Booker.
He ran into James at the rim, but James was floored by Yabusele’s incredibly bombastic dunk.
James collapsed to the court in disbelief but left the arena with a 98-87 victory and his third gold medal, and fifth consecutive for Team USA.
The play caused an immediate uproar on the France bench and at the Bercy Arena, with fans jumping up and down and waving flags for the home team.
Basketball fans also had a great time celebrating the moment on social media.
“This guy beat LeBron James in front of the world.” Written by X user.
“LeBron James got dunked on badly in the #GoldMedal game, OMG.” Another person said.
Another wrote:“If an athletic guy who is 6-foot-8, 260 pounds and can shoot, defend, rebound and dunk on LeBron James can’t even get in the league, he doesn’t have a chance.”
2024 Paris Olympics
For James, 39, the moment, along with Durant, will be one of the highlights of what may be his final Olympic basketball game.
The four-time MVP and 20-time All-Star started every Olympic game for Team USA, recording 14 points and six rebounds in the gold medal game.
James was part of her first Olympic team in Athens in 2004, finishing with a disappointing bronze medal, but eventually won gold medals in London (2012) and Rio (2016).
James was likely excited to head to Paris after his eldest son, Bronny James, joined the Los Angeles team and signed a contract extension with the Lakers, becoming the first father-son duo to play together on an NBA team.
