There for a moment Saturday, Anchorage’s JT Thor held the basketball world in the palm of his hand.
A corner 3-pointer by the 21-year-old NBA player out of West High School gave underdog South Sudan a stunning 100-99 lead over Team USA with 20 seconds left in the pre-Olympics exhibition game in London.
Thor – who built his chops at the Mountain View Boys & Girls Club – showed no fear on the world stage as he buried the biggest shot of his life to put the South Sudanese in position to score a miraculous upset.
This was a “Do You Believe in Miracles” matchup, except rather than an upstart American hockey team taking on the mighty Soviets in 1980, this was the youngest qualifying nation in the Olympics in South Sudan taking it to the undisputed kings of the court.
‘The King’ LeBron James rescued Team USA in the end, converting a beautiful driving layup with 8 seconds left with the 6-foot-10 Thor draped all over him to supply a thrilling 101-100 victory for the gold-medal favorites.
Team USA won the game, but South Sudan won the moment and Thor stole the show.
Uncle Sam stormed back from a 16-point second-half deficit and then nearly watched as Thor put South Sudan ahead in the closing moments. Thor, who just wrapped up his third NBA season with the Charlotte Hornets, doesn’t get a ton of minutes but he looked like an All-Star Saturday.
JT THOR FOR THE LEAD. 🔥😳
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 20, 2024
He scored 14 points in 18 minutes, hitting 3-of-6 field goals including that corner 3 and 7-of-9 free throws, matching Anthony Davis of the Lakers for game-high honors in attempts and makes at the foul line.
Thor added two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot in his signature performance.
Thor was a one-and-done at Auburn University and then was a second-round draft pick of the Hornets. He’s played in 165 NBA games, ranking third among the six Alaskans to play in the league, and has averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds. His career high is 20 points.
South Sudan hasn’t officially released its Olympic roster, but we like the Alaskan’s chances of making the cut and facing the Americans again for real this time, July 31 in Paris. Team USA and South Sudan are in Group C along with Serbia and Puerto Rico.