Were Wemby and Steph the MVPs for their countries?

    It was arguably the best basketball tournament of all time. Who were the best players of the best tournament then?

    MIES (Switzerland) - We've seen some incredible games and performances at the Paris 2024 Olympics. With this competition format, introduced in 2020, all 12 teams had something to fight for, giving us even more competitive games throughout the whole tournament, not just the medal round.

    After all is said and done, it's time to look back at the Most Valuable Players for each national team at the Olympics.

    United States

    No surprises here - if he's the MVP of the whole competition, he's also his nation's MVP.

    Read about his MVP award

    LeBron James MVP of the Paris 2024 headlines the All-Star Five

    LeBron James dominated in France, reaching double digits in all six games, and finishing with 14.2 points, 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game, even though he is about to turn 40 later this year.

    James picked up his third gold medal at the Olympics, with another bronze to his name from exactly 20 years ago.

    France

    At 20 years of age, he was under so much pressure, not just as the next big thing of international basketball, but also as the superhero who would guide the hosts back to the podium.

    And at 20 years of age, he delivered. Victor Wembanyama was simply outstanding, getting 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, including an unbelievable Final with 26 points against the United States.

    We always knew the future would belong to him, but he's changing our minds, because it seems that future is now.

    Serbia

    You probably saw how happy he was playing with the national team, and winning another Olympic medal. Back in 2016, he was just a youngster coming off the bench, but in 2024, Nikola Jokic was a superstar.

    Check the story on Nikola Jokic rare olympic triple-double

    Third time's the charm: Jokic finally delivers first triple-double

    The big guy put up 18.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, making the MVP of the Olympics process a discussion, as some thought he is a legit contender to win it over LeBron and Wemby.

    Maybe he was. But guess what? Nikola doesn't care about that, he just wants to have fun out there, make his teammates better and win a new piece of silverware. Individual accomplishments aren't that high on his wish list.

    Germany

    This is where things get interesting. For Germany, Franz Wagner was the leading scorer and he seems to be growing in confidence with each summer, so you could make a case that he was the German MVP of the Olympics.

    But then again, he's not (yet). Because Dennis Schroder has once again put the team on his shoulders and guided them towards another Semi-Final, getting 17.2 points, shooting 39.1 percent from deep on nearly eight attempts per game, with 7.5 assists also in there.

    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics
    Dennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics

    In other words, maybe Germany would make it to the final four without Franz's big scoring games. But they wouldn't have been there without Schroder's leadership on both ends of the floor.

    Canada

    The medal round was so exciting, it's easy to forget that Canada had a 3-1 record at the Olympics and one of the potential MVPs of the whole thing.

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 2024, earning his spot on the All-Star Five Second Team.

    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks
    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks
    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks
    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks
    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks
    Shai is lethal on fast-breaks

    But if Canada made it through the Quarter-Finals, the MVP race would've been way different with SGA in the mix.

    Australia

    A lot of fans of the Boomers wondered what the team would look like one day when Joe Ingles and Patty Mills are no longer a part of it.

    Well, despite being heartbroken after letting a 24-point lead slip out of their hands against Serbia, they now know they have plenty of young guys who could carry the team in the next decade or so.

    Read more about Giddey's leadership

    A new start: Josh Giddey is now conducting his orchestra

    The best one among them? Josh Giddey, easily. A true point forward, he had 17.5 points, made 47.4 percent of his threes on five attempts per game, with 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. He's turning 22 in October, so this is just a start of a long journey for Josh and the Boomers.

    Brazil

    Imagine scoring a total of six points in the first two games at the Olympics, and still ending up as your nation's MVP, easily. That's Bruno Caboclo for you.

    Everybody knew the main issue with the Brazilian center and his endless wingspan was staying on the floor. He struggled with foul trouble against Germany and France, but then went off for 33 points and 17 rebounds against Japan to reach the Quarter-Finals, and he had another 30-point performance there, against the United States.

    The 28-year-old finished the Olympics with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for Brazil.

    Greece

    Probably the easiest selection of them all. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the tournament in scoring with 25.8 points per game, the most by any players in this millennium at the Olympics, just edging out Ricky Rubio's 25.5 points in 2020, and Bojan Bogdanovic's 25.3 from 2016.

    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany
    Giannis flying high early on against Germany

    Giannis also had 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, all done while shooting 67.8 percent from the field. At 26.5, he was second in efficiency rating per game, trailing only Nikola Jokic's mark of 31.0.

    South Sudan

    His triple-double against the United States in the exhibition game just before the Olympics made all the other teams that much more careful in guarding him. However, Carlik Jones was still able to lead the way for South Sudan.

    Carlik Jones hit the dagger for South Sudan

    Playing at their first Olympics, they turned to him to run the offense. The 26-year-old had 18.0 points, 7.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, despite struggling with his outside shooting, which is usually his strength.

    Spain

    The run of the golden generation has been prolonged for so long, but now that most of the giants of Spanish basketball, such as Pau and Marc Gasol, Felipe Reyes, Juan Carlos Navarro, Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez are all retired, it's time for the guys born after 2000 to take over.

    Santi Aldama's campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics makes them believe the transition will be painless. He's 23 now, but already a leader of the team, averaging 17.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, while hitting 45.0 percent of his threes on seven attempts per game.

    Santi Aldama is the leader Spain need

    The numbers could've been even better, but coach Sergio Scariolo mentioned he wasn't physically at 100 percent in the game against Canada. Before that, he made 9-of-16 from deep.

    Japan

    Another 23-year-old on the list, Yuki Kawamura took over when Rui Hachimura was first ejected in the game against France, then left the Olympics with an injury.

    Kawamura earned plenty of fans all over the world with his performances, and with 20.3 points per game, he finished as the fourth best scorer of the Olympics.

    Read more about Yuki Karamura here:

    Kawamura: Meet the man who almost stunned host France

    Yuki Kawamura: Japan's next great XS-sized guard from Yuki Togashi

    He made 40.6 percent of three-pointers on a whopping 11 tries per game, while dishing out 7.7 assists and grabbing 3.3 boards each time out on the court. Not bad for an undersized, 172cm (5'8'') tall point guard.

    Puerto Rico

    For the first time in 20 years, Puerto Rico made it back to this scene, and Jose Alvarado played his heart out in his first summer with the national team.

    The point guard had 15.3 points in 23.7 minutes per game in Lille, all while fighting off a troubling ankle injury he sustained in the first half of the first game of his first Olympics.

    Jose Alvarado with words for South Sudan's bench

    Alvarado is 26, and surely hoping he would be back in LA in 2028. Until then, it's time for the entire team to use the 2024 experience as a lesson, learn, improve, and fight for the Quarter-Finals - or more - once again.

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