Los Angeles Lakers news: South Sudan gave LeBron James and Team USA a proper scare on Sunday in a high-profile tune-up game for the upcoming Olympics. The Americans escaped with a hard-fought 101-100 victory in one of their last few remaining exhibition matchups heading into the international tournament in Paris.
While this may have been just one of a handful of preparatory contests for Team USA, this game meant so much more for their opponents.
Los Angeles Lakers News: Wenyen Gabriel’s Powerful Message

After the contest, former Lakers big man Wenyen Gabriel delivered a powerful statement about how monumental this game was for South Sudan.
“I’m happy we were able to represent our country. A lot of people around the world don’t know what South Sudan was, but today we were able to represent our country with pride, put up a good fight, and show them the potential of our country,” he said, via Cesare Milanti of Euro Hoops. “It was a proud moment for a lot of people. Obviously, we wanted to win, we played really well and I’m really proud of my teammates, the heart we showed, the dedication, and trying to put respect on our name, and to get our country respected.”
Gabriel, who played two seasons with the Lakers between 2021 and 2023, is no stranger to playing games at the highest level. However, this matchup was much different for him considering how he was representing his home nation on the international stage.

Gabriel went on to provide a peek into life in South Sudan and how significant this moment is not only for the players but for the entire nation as well.
“We don’t have any indoor basketball courts in our country,” he continued. “We are a bunch of refugees that come together for a few weeks out of the year, trying our best, playing against some of the best players ever. This is bigger than basketball for us. To show people that we can compete and understand that hoops in Africa are something for the future. It’s only a matter of time before the next generation gets built up. There’s a billion people in the country that’s no different than any one of us. We were able to represent us and get to this level, based on these opportunities.
“… Today was an example and something to bring us together. We’ve been a war-torn country, been through a lot, every single year a lot of bloodshed. For us to have something to have together, to stop looking at each other differently. It’s a small country, 11 million people, but today we were able to be united as one. We hope we can continue doing different things in the future, to be united, to keep building our country, so we can all be proud saying that we are from South Sudan.”
Ultimately, South Sudan came home with a loss. However, based on Gabriel’s emotional message here, it is clear that this contest proved to be a major win for their country.

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