“Hopefully we won't see them until the end”

World champion Daniel Thies knows Team USA's NBA stars from everyday life, and the German basketball national has a corresponding amount of respect for his next opponent. “They're all absolute superstars,” said the New Orleans Pelicans expert a week before the Olympics began. the sky– Interview.

Monday (8 p.m./ProSieben), the gold medalists from Manila meet LeBron James' team at a dress rehearsal in London. “I don't think they're unbeatable,” Thies says, but expects a fight as late as possible in the Summer Games: “Hopefully we won't see them until the end. Of course that would be a dream.

If they meet this year's highlight, Thies says they will have “a good day” to win it all.

There are still opportunities. “They're all a bit older on average, so they don't run as fast as we want to run,” Thies said: “So we definitely have to use our speed and, of course, our fighting spirit against them. .”