Losing Before the Battle

There had been no men's basketball games for the previous two days, with the competition set to begin on the 29th. During that time, Goodwin discussed some of his ideas with Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who found them quite interesting and even tested them in practice, where they worked exceptionally well. Goodwin also went around with his family to watch Olympic events.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was the 29th. The Dream Team's first game was about to begin. Their opponent was France, led by Tony Parker.

Tony Parker stared helplessly at the schedule, muttering to himself, Why do we have to face the Dream Team in our first game?! And a Dream Team with Goodwin, too. Isn't this just bullying children?!

Though the San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker had played for could still put up some resistance against the Boston Celtics led by Goodwin, that was the San Antonio Spurs—not something the French national team could compare to.

With the San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker could rely on teammates like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Here, he could only rely on himself.

Tony Parker knew that facing the Dream Team meant certain defeat, but just how many points they would lose by was still up for discussion.

After all, this was only the first game. If they could minimize the margin of defeat, it would not have too great an impact on their remaining games.

He wanted to lead France to a medal.

Before the game, the Dream Team players displayed a friendly attitude, shaking hands and hugging Tony Parker. But once they stepped onto the court, they showed their ferocious side.

Chris Paul, in particular, who was assigned to defend Tony Parker, constantly initiated body contact and forced him into physical battles.

Even if Tony Parker managed to