Luka Doncic

Patty Mills scored 42 points to lead Australia to a 107-93 victory over Slovenia to capture the bronze medal in men's basketball at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Mills, who recently signed with the Brooklyn Nets, knocked down 15 of his 31 shots from the field and dished out nine assists in his latest standout performance for the Australian national team. The Utah Jazz's Joe Ingles added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Boomers.

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks paced Slovenia once again with a near triple-double, tallying 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, though he did turn the ball over eight times and shoot 7-of-20 from the field (3-of-13 from three).

It was a convincing performance by the Australians, who outscored the Slovenians in all four quarters, including a 33-26 edge in the second to build an eight-point halftime lead.

Doncic knocked down back-to-back threes midway through the fourth quarter to cut the Aussies' lead to six with 4:33 to play, but the Boomers responded with a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach for good.

It's the first time the Australian men's team has won a basketball medal in the Olympics, having lost the bronze-medal game on four prior occasions.

"We've been waiting for this moment for a long time," Mills told reporters. "I don't know whether to laugh, cry, smile. It's a lot of emotions."

The Aussies shot 54.8 percent from the field (40-of-73) and held a 19-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Slovenia turned the ball over 17 times and made just 12 of its 35 three-point attempts (34.3 percent).

Along with another strong across-the-board showing from Doncic, Klemen Prepelic chipped in 18 points and seven boards for the Junaki, who reached the tournament finals undefeated before dropping two straight contests to miss the podium.

Slovenia, which went 9-0 en route to the 2017 EuroBasket championship, was making its Olympic debut in men's basketball.

Earlier Saturday, the United States defeated France, 87-82, to win the gold medal in men's basketball.

The basketball schedule in Tokyo wraps up Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET Saturday in the U.S.) as Team USA takes on the host nation of Japan in the women's gold-medal game.

Team USA's run to the gold-medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been nothing short of bumpy, to say the least. 

Unlike its gold medal-winning counterparts on the 2016 team, this year's squad, which is coming off a shortened 72-game NBA season that followed last year's COVID-19 bubble, stumbled through the exhibitions and even through group play. Losses to Nigeria and Australia before leaving for Tokyo raised questions about whether this would be the first U.S. squad not to bring home a gold medal since the infamous 2004 team in Athens. 

Team USA rebounded to beat Argentina and Spain in the final two exhibition games, but it lost its first game of pool play to France, snapping a 25-game Olympic winning streak dating back to the 2008 Games. The Americans followed that with a pair of blowout wins over Iran and Czech Republic before dispatching Spain and Australia in the knockout round to reach the final for a rematch with France. 

The French, meanwhile, dropped all three exhibition games prior to arriving in Tokyo, largely with a short-handed roster because of the ongoing NBA playoffs. They've won every Olympic game in Japan, though, with a narrow 90-89 win over Luka Doncic and Slovenia boosting them into the gold-medal match. 

Gold-Medal Game

United States vs. France, Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET 

How to Watch: NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

Bronze-Medal Game

Slovenia vs. Australia, Sat. Aug. 7, 7 a.m. ET

How to Watch: NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

United States vs. France

As it always is, on paper, the United States team brings significantly more talent into Friday's final than France does. The Americans have been the best shooting team in the tournament—both from the field and at the three-point line—but have struggled for long periods on the defensive end.

After failing to adjust to FIBA's more physical style of play and officiating early on, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been dominant at the offensive end, averaging 19.0 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting nearly 54 percent from the field. Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, both playing in their first Olympics, have been terrific from behind the arc, each shooting better than 42 percent. 

France, which boasts NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and newly minted New York Knicks guard Evan Fournier, has significantly less NBA talent on the roster, but it has much more cohesion, with most of these players being on the same France national team for multiple years.

In the group-stage matchup that France ultimately won 83-76, Team USA struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor, shooting just 36 percent. The trio of Durant, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday combined to shoot just 12-of-35 from the field. 

Should the Americans have another awful shooting performance like that one, France could steal away the gold medal, as Argentina did in 2004. But don't bet on it. Team USA's offensive cohesion has improved dramatically since then, and Durant, Tatum and Holiday have finally adjusted to the rough-and-tumble FIBA style of play. 

Prediction: United States 95, France 83

Slovenia vs. Australia

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic nearly led Slovenia to the gold-medal game in the national team's first-ever Olympic appearance, but France's Nicolas Batum blocked a last-second layup attempt by Slovenian guard Klemen Prepelic to secure a 90-89 win.

Doncic led the Slovenians with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists, marking just the third triple-double ever recorded during an Olympic contest. The last player to do that was LeBron James in 2012. 

In five games, Doncic has averaged a staggering 24.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists per contest, putting him on pace to be the only basketball player ever to average a triple-double in a single Olympic Games. He hasn't been without help, with four other Slovenian players averaging double-figure scoring throughout the event. 

The Australians, who had hopes of pulling off a major upset against Team USA in the semifinals, feature multiple NBA players, including Brooklyn's Patty Mills, Utah's Joe Ingles and Philadelphia's Matisse Thybulle. Mills just recently signed with the Nets after playing the past 10 seasons in San Antonio under Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich. His 19.6 points per game lead the Australians, as do his 5.6 assists. 

Despite Australia having arguably more talent, though, Slovenia still has something to play for with its first-ever Olympic basketball medal on the line. And how can you bet against Luka Doncic?

Prediction: Slovenia 88, Australia 82

Team USA will face off with France in the men's basketball gold-medal game at the Tokyo Olympics after their respective wins in Thursday's semifinals at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The United States overcame an early 15-point deficit to score a comfortable 97-78 win over Australia. Kevin Durant led the charge with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Devin Booker chipped in 20 points for the Americans, who will be looking for their fourth straight Olympic title Saturday.

France narrowly escaped a serious challenge from Luka Doncic and Slovenia as Nicolas Batum made a game-saving block in the final seconds to preserve a 90-89 victory. Nando de Colo (25 points) and Evan Fournier (23) paced the French offense in the semifinal thriller.

Gold-Medal Game Information

Where: Saitama Super Arena in Japan

Tokyo Time: Saturday, Aug. 7, at 11:30 a.m. JST

U.S. Time: Friday, Aug. 6, at 10:30 p.m. ET

Watch: Peacock or NBC Olympics

Championship Game Preview

Alarm bells started to sound after Team USA dropped its Olympic opener against France following a lackluster run of exhibition games that included losses to Nigeria and Australia.

Gregg Popovich's group has looked closer to the dominant form that's expected from the U.S. since that Group A loss to France, winning four straight games by an average of 30.5 points to reach the final.

"There were a lot of guys on this team that had straight faces and were ready to play when we were down 15—strong faces is what Pop said," Durant told reporters about the semifinal comeback. "They came out and hit us with a nice haymaker, and we were able to get back up and get that lead back."

Although Durant is the center of attention, it's taken a complete team effort for the Americans to turn around their fortunes. That was on display once again Thursday as four players (Durant, Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton) reached double figures in scoring and two others (Jayson Tatum and Zach LaVine) scored nine points.

The United States is likely to need a similar well-rounded performance to win gold, especially since France was able to hold KD to 10 points in the teams' prior meeting in the Games.

Another key will be protecting the basketball. The U.S. pulled away from Australia despite a mediocre 19-16 assist-to-turnover ratio. It'll likely look to keep that turnover figure below 10 in the final after giving the ball away 12 times against France the first time around.

Meanwhile, France carried a six-point lead in the fourth quarter of its semifinal against Slovenia, but Doncic and Co. fought back and had the ball in their hands with a chance to win.

Doncic was doubled as he attempted to drive the lane, so he dished to Klemen Prepelic, who appeared to have a clean lane to the hoop for the go-ahead layup. Batum had other ideas as he saved the game for Les Bleus:

France heads into the rematch with the U.S. undefeated in the tournament. Beating the Americans for a second time will be its toughest test, and a win would give the country its first Olympic gold medal in men's basketball. It won silver in 1948 and 2000.

De Colo, Fournier and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot have given the French squad a lot of offensive firepower in the backcourt and on the wing, but center Rudy Gobert figures to play a critical role against a U.S. team with a limited number of impact players in the post.

Gobert (7'1''), who tallied nine points, 16 rebounds and four blocks against Slovenia, will probably match up with Bam Adebayo (6'9'') initially, but his presence could force the Americans to use JaVale McGee (7'0'') more frequently for the defensive boost, which could slow the U.S. offense.

If Gobert can dominate on the low block, France will have a real shot at another upset in the gold-medal game.

Team USA's recent resurgence makes it the favorite heading into the final, though.

Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic have emerged as the primary stars of the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball tournament over four games. 

Durant and the United States overcame an opening loss to France to win three straight games and earn a semifinal showdown with Australia, while Doncic will put his 17-0 mark with Slovenia on the line against the French team. 

The United States and Slovenia are favored in their respective matchups, although the Americans have a much larger spread in their favor.

Slovenia has a slight margin on its side going into Thursday's semifinal round.

Olympic Men's Basketball Semifinal Schedule

Thursday, August 5

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

United States (-11.5) vs. Australia (12:15 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Slovenia (-2) vs. France (7 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Games can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports app

Preview

United States vs. Australia

Australia and the United States will face off in a rematch of an Olympic warm-up game won by the Aussies in Las Vegas. 

Australia received the perfect boost ahead of its showdown with the roster loaded with NBA superstars when it defeated Argentina by 38 points on Tuesday. 

The Boomers held the South American team to 59 points in one of the most dominant performances of the Olympic basketball tournament. 

Patty Mills has been the driving force of the Australian offense in Tokyo and was the team's leading scorer in three of four games. He eclipsed the 20-point mark in two group-stage games against Nigeria and Germany.

The problem for the 32-year-old on Thursday is he faces a team led by his former NBA head coach, Gregg Popovich. He signed as a free agent with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday after playing under Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs from 2012-21. 

Mills could also be limited by the defensive prowess of Jrue Holiday, who was massive on that side of the ball during the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA Finals run. 

According to StatMuse, Mills averaged 8.5 points per game in 21 career NBA matchups against Holiday. He averaged 1.7 three-point makes off 4.6 shots from distance per contest. 

Additionally, Joe Ingles, who is Australia's other top shooting guard, has been held under 10 points per game in 17 clashes with Holiday in his career. 

If Holiday locks down the perimeter, the Americans can limit the Boomers' offensive production and create difficult shots for their opponent. If that occurs, the U.S. could dominate the rebound battle and beat its opponent back in transition. 

The Americans possess a more robust scoring attack, led by Durant, that could overwhelm the Australian defense. The Nets star is coming off a 29-point performance against Spain and is the best individual player left in the four-team bracket. 

If Durant takes over for stretches and the United States plays strong perimeter defense, it should have a chance to cover as an 11.5-point favorite. 

Slovenia vs. France 

Doncic set the tone for Slovenia's success in Tokyo with 73 points in the first two group-stage games against Argentina and Japan.

In the last two games, though, the Dallas Mavericks star has not been the leading scorer within his squad. Vlatko Cancar took that honor in the victory over Spain and Zoran Dragic produced 27 points in the blowout win over Germany in the quarterfinal round. 

Doncic had 20 points, 11 assists and was two rebounds shy of a triple-double in the 94-70 victory. If he can be that productive in other stat categories while scoring around 20 points, Slovenia should be in good shape. 

Dragic and Mike Tobey combined for 40 points and seven three-point makes, five of which came from the former, to support Doncic in the triumph over Germany. 

If Slovenia produces a similar level of scoring depth, it can go head-to-head with France and potentially extend the winning streak with the 22-year-old on the floor. 

France comes into Thursday's matchup with the same 4-0 mark as Slovenia. After beating the United States to open the competition, it easily beat Iran and Czech Republic and eliminated Italy by nine points. 

The paint play of Rudy Gobert will be critical to France's success in the rest of the tournament.

The Utah Jazz star put up 22 points and nine rebounds in the win over Italy, and Slovenia needs to either contain him or Evan Fournier to push its way into the gold-medal contest. 

Fournier has been one of the best shooters throughout the tournament. The new New York Knicks arrival had 21 points with a trio of three-pointers in the last round. 

If Slovenia's guards frustrate the 28-year-old beyond the arc, they will force Nicolas Batum or others to fill the scoring production. Batum was the only other French player with 15 or more points against Italy. 

Fournier and Gobert are a lethal one-punch when they get going on the offensive end. If Slovenia slows them down for even one stretch of the contest and Doncic increases his output, it could feature in its first-ever gold-medal game.

The Dallas Mavericks will have to wait to sign Luka Doncic to a contract extension.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, contract discussions between the two sides will take place after the Tokyo Olympics, in which Doncic is competing for Slovenia.

Doncic will reportedly receive a five-year, $202 million max deal this offseason before entering the final year of his rookie contract. In the meantime, he led his national team to a 3-0 group-stage record in Japan to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Germany.

The Olympic tournament could last until Saturday, and the Games' closing ceremony is scheduled for Sunday.

The longer wait could make some fans nervous, but Doncic has hinted he intends to sign an extension when eligible.

Tim Cato and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported in June that Doncic plans to sign his new deal despite the overhauls among the Mavericks front office and coaching staff.

The guard has already proved to be one of the top players in the NBA just three years into his career in North America. The 22-year-old has a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star selections and two first-team All-NBA selections on his resume.

Doncic averaged 27.7 points, 8.6 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game last season and will be a perennial MVP candidate if he can keep up that level of production.

The challenge for Dallas is to build around him after back-to-back first-round playoff exits. Kristaps Porzingis has been up and down since signing his five-year, $158 million extension in 2019, and few others have stepped into more prominent roles.

The Mavericks will look to add more talent around Doncic and Porzingis with their Spotrac-projected $33.5 million in cap space this offseason.

Luka Doncic and Slovenia completed an undefeated run through the men's basketball group stage in the Tokyo Olympics with a victory Sunday over Spain at Saitama Super Arena.

Argentina also clinched a berth in the knockout rounds on the men's side with a blowout win over the host nation of Japan. As a result of the subsequent bracket draw, Team USA will face Spain in the quarterfinals.

Spain and Serbia picked up wins in the women's tournament to advance out of Group A.

Men's Basketball Results

Argentina 97, Japan 77

Slovenia 95, Spain 87

Women's Basketball Results

Spain 76, Canada 66

Serbia 65, South Korea 61

Aug. 1 Basketball Recap

Doncic struggled from the field Sunday, making just two of his seven field-goal attempts, but he still had a major impact on the outcome as he nearly posted a triple-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Vlatko Cancar led Slovenia in scoring with 22 points in the win.

Spain's offense was stuck in neutral for much of the contest, shooting just 37.7 percent from the field (29 of 77) despite a strong 24-8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ricky Rubio was the top performer with 18 points and nine assists.

"I think we're ready for everything," Doncic told reporters. "It's the quarterfinals. If you lose you home and we're going to come out 100 percent."

Argentina will join Slovenia and Spain in the knockout rounds out of Group C thanks to its win over Japan. The Argentinians stormed out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Luis Scola led the way with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Here's a look at the full men's knockout bracket:

There's still one day left of pool play in the women's tournament, but Spain and Serbia have already punched their tickets to the quarterfinals.

Spain controlled the paint to pull away from Canada. The 2016 silver medalists shot 62 percent (29 of 47) on their two-point attempts, while Canada connected on just 36 percent (19 of 53) of those shots. Astou Ndour continued her strong play with 20 points, 11 boards and two blocks for the Group A winners.

The Canadians still have a chance to reach the quarters as a third-place team depending on Monday's results in the other two groups.

Serbia withstood a second-half rally from South Korea to guarantee its advancement. Four different Serbians reached double figures in scoring as part of a balanced offensive attack, led by Aleksandra Crvendakic with 15 points.

South Korea, which narrowly missed out on an upset of Spain in the tournament opener, has been eliminated after going 0-3 in group play.

Monday's basketball schedule in Tokyo features the final four games of women's pool play: Nigeria vs. Japan, France vs. the United States, China vs. Belgium and Australia vs. Puerto Rico. Team USA's clash with France is set for 1:40 p.m. local time (12:40 a.m. ET in the U.S.).

For most of this past college basketball season, USC's Evan Mobley has been near the top of most NBA draft boards.

His size, length, basketball IQ and across-the-board fundamentals have drawn favorable comparisons to Tim Duncan and have made him a near-lock to be among the first two or three names called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday.

And for all the work Mobley has put into improving his status as one of the most promising prospects in this year's draft, there are some advantages he will come into the league with that he had absolutely nothing to do with.

Players make choices on how their game evolves over time so that they can be in the position he is now.

But picking a parent with a professional basketball background?

That is indeed Mobley's basketball life, one that includes his father, Eric, an assistant coach with the Trojans who also played professionally in China, Indonesia, Mexico and Portugal.

It's one thing to have a coach tell you what to work on as a player and why it's important.

The spiel strikes a different, more impactful chord when that voice is from your father who, like you, had dreams of someday playing professionally, and made it happen.

But the journey toward achieving any dream is often one with some setbacks and moments of adversity—the kind of moments most parents would want their children to avoid if possible.

It is that kind of wisdom in handling adversity that helps young players whose parents played professionally process techniques to get better and ways to improve quicker than many.

Well before it was apparent that Evan Mobley was going to be a center at the college or pro level, his father had the 7-footer working on his guard-like skills.

Evan Mobley bought in immediately.

"When I was young, me and my dad used to work out a lot on ball skills," Mobley told The Athletic. "We felt the big man moves were pretty easy to learn once you get the guard skills down. The guard skills are the tougher ones to learn. So we focused on the guard skills like ball-handling, shooting, dribbling, all that early. Then as I grew and got older, the big man moves came naturally."

The list of parents who played professional basketball with offspring in the NBA goes deeper than the Curry clan led by Dell, whose children include two-time league MVP Stephen Curry and his brother Seth.

Of the 495 players who began the 2020-2021 season on an NBA roster (that includes players with two-way contracts), at least 53 were confirmed by Bleacher Report to have had at least one parent who played professional or semipro basketball.

And while JaVale McGee and his mom, Pam, were the first mother-son tandem to play in the WNBA/NBA, they were not alone.

Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris' mom, Joy, appeared in 29 games with the WNBA's Detroit Shock before they relocated to Tulsa in 2010.

All the scouts interviewed by Bleacher Report agree that understanding a prospect's lineage is part of their information-gathering process.

"Now, have I ever made a decision or recommended we draft a player because his dad played in the league? No. But have I included it in our evaluation? Absolutely," said an Eastern Conference scout.

A second Eastern Conference scout pointed out how being the child of a former pro player can be beneficial if the two have a similar size and skill set.

"When that happens, you probably put a little more thought into the whole family thing," he said.

The second scout pointed to how that was taken into consideration when the team he works for scouted Cole Anthony, whose father, Greg Anthony, was an 11-year NBA veteran who, like his son, played point guard.

"The thing about Greg when he played, and I'm talking when Greg was at UNLV and when he played with the Knicks [1988 to 2002], he really played with great poise and was a true leader on the floor," the second scout said. "Go back and look at the scouting report on Cole coming out of high school and coming into the NBA. Damn near every one of them talked about him as a leader and at this level, probably a better scorer than his dad was."

The second scout added, "Would we have talked up his leadership as much if he didn't have a dad who played in the league and who played the same position?"

An Eastern Conference official said the one thing that you find most common with players who had a parent who played professional basketball is that they have a high basketball IQ.

"Most of those guys have been around the game so long, things that a lot of kids have to learn and get used to, they don't because they have seen it a million times done by their dad," the executive said. "So it becomes something they just do without thinking about it, while a lot of other kids and young players have to learn it, think about it and hopefully get to a point where they don't have to think about it, either."

When it comes to the NBA's pool of international players, the role of professional basketball-playing parents was even more evident.

Of the 107 international players on opening-night rosters for the 2020-21 season (that includes two-way contract players), 24—that's 22.3 percent—had at least one parent who played basketball professionally.

The most notable current international NBA player on this list is Dallas' Luka Doncic, whose father, Sasa Doncic, played professionally in Slovenia, Serbia and France.

Of those 24 international players, four of them—Dallas' Josh Green (Australia), Phoenix's Dario Saric (Croatia), Chicago's Lauri Markkanen (Finland) and the Clippers' Serge Ibaka (Congo)—had both parents play professional basketball.

"Having two parents who have been there and done that, as a pro, can do nothing but help a young player trying to figure out how to get to the next level," said a Western Conference assistant coach. "Between the two of them, there's not much that they probably haven't seen, that they can't relay to their child."

It's the kind of information that could mean the difference between having a solid career that ends at the high school or college level or one that'll include Adam Silver calling your name to officially welcome you into the NBA and join the uber-select group of players whose journey to becoming a professional basketball player was paved by their pro-ballin' parent.

Luka Doncic stole the show with 48 points on Monday as Slovenia opened the men's basketball tournament at Tokyo Olympics with a victory over Argentina at Saitama Super Arena.

Spain also had a productive day on the basketball court, as both its men's and women's teams started their runs with wins over Japan and South Korea, respectively. The Serbia women's squad took down Canada.

Let's check out the full list of Monday's scores followed by a recap of the pool-play action.

Men's Results

Slovenia 118, Argentina 100

Spain 88, Japan 77

Women's Results

Spain 73, South Korea 69

Serbia 72, Canada 68

Monday Recap

Doncic, who's coming off a season with the Dallas Mavericks in which he finished sixth in NBA MVP voting, picked up right where he left off. Along with the 48 points, he tallied 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks to lead Slovenia to its first win ever at the Olympics.

"For me, I said this two years ago: He is the best player in the world, including the NBA," Argentina head coach Sergio Hernandez told reporters. "And if there was any doubt in my mind, there is no doubt anymore. He is the best player in the world."

Hernandez added: "We tried everything that we would have tried against a normal player, but he's not a normal player."

Doncic came just seven points shy of the men's Olympic record of 55, held by Brazil's Oscar Schmidt since the 1988 Games.

Klemen Prepelic chipped in 22 points for Slovenia, while Luis Scola paced the Argentinians with 23.

Ricky Rubio led the Spain men's team with 20 points and nine assists in just 22 minutes. The Spanish side built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to the finish line.

Three other players—Victor Claver (13), Marc Gasol (12) and Alex Abrines (11)—reached double figures in scoring as part of the balanced attack for La Roja.

The Spain women's team faced a tougher challenge from South Korea, which used a late 7-0 run to make a last-ditch comeback that came up just short.

Astou Ndour was dominant in the post with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the win. Laura Gil added 16 points and 14 boards as Spain held significant advantages in rebounds (48-30) and points in the paint (48-32).

Lee-seul Kang led South Korea with 26 points.

The clash between Serbia and Canada also came down to the wire. The game was tied at 58 with just over four minutes remaining before back-to-back threes by Yvonne Anderson and Ana Dabovic put the Serbians ahead for good.

Sonja Vasic led Serbia with 16 points. Nirra Fields posted a team-high 19 points for Canada.

Tuesday's basketball schedule in Tokyo will feature four women's games: Japan vs. France, Nigeria vs. the United States, Australia vs. Belgium and Puerto Rico vs. China.