Nicolas Batum: “The USA are the best team, but we are getting closer and closer”

By Aris Barkas/ [email protected]

PARIS, France – Nicolas Batum has announced his retirement from the French national team along with Nando De Colo. However, his legacy includes two Olympic finals in which he lost to the USA, but the matches were very hard-fought.

This is no small matter, as he explained: “This is still the best team in the world. The USA is the best team, but we’re getting closer and closer. I mean, we’re proud. Not because the USA is going to show up, we’re just going to give them the game and say, OK, you’re too good and we’re not going to compete.”

And this is his wish for the future of the French national team: “We will try to beat them every time. We know it will be difficult. You have to play the perfect game and if you make mistakes and lose the ball, they will make you pay for it immediately. But we will get closer because I don’t think we are afraid of them. We respect them but we are not afraid of them. So let’s just go out there and try to beat them because beating a team like that can be the biggest game for our country.”

According to Batum, it’s just a matter of time: “It hasn’t happened because they’re so good. But who knows, in my opinion it could happen at some point, but that’s why we call them the Dream Team or the Avengers or whatever. I mean, maybe it will happen at some point.”

Batum said about the final: “It’s hard to talk after a game like that. Of course we’re playing against a great team, but we were in the thick of the game. We were in such good form with two minutes to go, like it was a five-point game. Steph was incredible and finished the game, but I think we were there.”

The turnaround of the Olympic hosts after the defeat in Lille against Germany was impressive.”Who would have thought seven days ago that it would be so close for us to play against this team?”said Batum.

Even though France was not happy after the defeat, according to its captain it should still be proud: “We wanted to win the game, but to be in this position was unbelievable. I’ve been playing for this team for 15 years. And this is the craziest, strangest tournament I’ve ever played with this team. So we have a lot of regrets. It’s pretty much a mix of emotions. But in the end, we’re on the podium. We have a medal around our necks. And we can be proud of that, because as the coach said, nine teams went home empty-handed, nine great teams.”

Photo credit: FIBA