Former Auburn forward [autotag]J.T Thor[/autotag] and South Sudan nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets of all time on Saturday afternoon.
Playing an exhibition against a Team USA team favored by over 47 points, the Bright Stars were seconds away from causing enough hysteria in the city of London to prompt the bridges to fall down. After taking a double digit lead into the halftime locker room, the least experienced squad in the Olympic field fell 101-100 in the games final seconds after a LeBron James layup.
James, who has more Olympic gold medals (3) than South Sudan has Olympic appearances (2), led the way for the red, white, and blue with 23 points on an efficient 10/14 from the field including the eventual game winner with under a 20 seconds left. Before James’s heroics, it was former Tiger JT Thor who seemed to strike lightning in a bottle.
With his team down 99-97, the Charlotte Hornets forward calmly knocked down a step-back corner three pointer in front of the aforementioned Los Angeles Laker legend to put his nation ahead 100-99. The long ball was Thor’s only 3-point make of the game, although he contributed heavily elsewhere, finishing with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block over 18 minutes of action.
Thor’s 14 points were good enough for third on the Bright Stars. He trailed only NBA journeyman Carlik Jones (15 points) and Marial Shayok (24) on the stat sheet. Jones, who last played in the association in 2023 for the Chicago Bulls, did his best Michael Jordan impression across the pond, putting up a 15 point, 11 rebound, 11 assist triple-double performance in the loss. Shayok, who played college basketball at Iowa State with Team USA member Tyrese Haliburton, was not only the leading scorer for his team but the leading scorer in the game as well.
The former Auburn Tiger and his fellow Bright Stars put the basketball world on notice despite the loss. While South Sudan is still a long shot to claim a podium in the games, the moral victory should bode well for the team’s chances in Paris. As for Team USA, it is clear France won’t be all butterflies and pastries for the favorites.
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