Team USA falls to Nigeria in exhibition as Boston’s Jayson Tatum logs 15 points, 7 rebounds

It likely wasn’t the outcome either team thought they’d see when the final buzzer sounded.

Team USA unexpectedly fell 90 – 87 to an outstanding effort by the Nigerian National Team in a pre-Olympic scrimmage between the two squads in Las Vegas, Nevada ahead of the Tokyo Olympics kicking off at the end of the month of July.

Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum was the U.S. team’s second-highest scorer in the losing effort, logging 15 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 57.1% from the field and a sizzling 66.7% from beyond the arc while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line in just under 28 minutes of game time.

Any Gold medal mystique about Team USA is on shaky ground at best after the loss, the 12th since NBA players have been allowed to play and the first for Team USA against an African team.

A huge win for Nigeria and African basketball more generally, it puts the world on notice that the path to Olympic Gold has never been wider.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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