Olympics 2021 Men's Basketball: Top 5 individual performances from the group stage
The 2021 Olympics men's basketball group stage has come to an end, as teams have been drawn for the knockout stage. Team France, Australia, and Slovenia were impressive in the group stages, winning all three of their respective fixtures.
The competition will resume on August 3 with quarter-finals action in the 2021 Olympics men's basketball. All eight remaining national teams will battle it out to move a step closer to securing the gold medal.
While some players have struggled to announce their presence in the 2021 Olympics men's basketball competition, others have wasted no time dominating the tournament thus far.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top five individual performances from the group stage.
Note: Although Damian Lillard did not make this list, he is worthy of an honorable mention as he knocked down seven 3-pointers against Iran in their 120-66 win.
#5 Kevin Durant (USA) vs Czech Republic
Team USA have not performed at the level that many fans expected heading into the 2021 Olympics. Although the All-Star team completely mauled their opponents in their last two outings, they are not the unbeatable side that fans had hoped for.
Regardless, Team USA sealed their quarter-finals berth at the 2021 Olympics with a 119-84 thrashing of the Czech Republic. Kevin Durant set a new USA scoring mark in that game.
Team USA were down by seven after the first quarter, but KD took over and rallied the team to a 101-59 scoreline for the rest of the game. Although the box score will show that Jayson Tatum registered more points, it was the timing of KD's buckets that set him apart.
With his performance, he overtook Carmelo Anthony as the all-time leading scorer for the USA's men's basketball team at the Olympics. He ended the game with 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one block and +32 efficiency.
#4 Patty Mills (Australia) vs Nigeria
Patty Mills led the Aussies to their first victory in the 2021 men's basketball Olympics after defeating Team Nigeria 84-67. He controlled proceedings throughout the game as he came through with big shots to help his team pull away whenever the Nigerians tried to organize a comeback.
Mills was effective on both ends of the court as he forced turnovers that led to scoring on the other end. It was the start of many incredible performances for Team Australia, who will be facing Argentina in the Olympics quarter-finals.
The 32-year-old finished the game with 25 points, four rebounds, six assists, four steals, and maintained a +25 efficiency.