Japan has no answers for dominant Team USA in gold medal game blowout

Team USA’s Brittney Griner scored 30 points on 14/18 shooting as the United States defeated Japan 90-75 in the gold medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.

Japan had no answers for the post play of Team USA, with A’Ja Wilson scoring 19 points on 8/13, and Breanna Stewart adding 14 points and 14 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. The dominance in the front court can be highlighted by the blocked shot totals, with the Americans leading 12-0.

Japan was held to 28-77 from the floor with the USA at 37/69, with an incredible 28 assists on those baskets despite the size advantage.

It was the USA’s 55th-straight win in women’s basketball and seventh-straight medal. They were a -2500 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook before tip off, but failed to cover the 17.5-point spread.

With the win Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, teammates in college at UConn and members of the 2002 NCAA National Championship team, have won five straight gold medals. It will be a new era with new faces likely in Paris in 2024, but the run of the United States since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta is one of the most incredible in Olympic history in any sport.