In July, fans were excited when the LA Clippers rekindled with franchise favorite Nicolas Batum. Batum was an above-average three-point shooter in his first stint in LA and added over a decade of experience to a locker room that needed his energy and mental strength.
Furthermore, one month after uniting with the Clippers, Batum was starting for his home country, France, in the biggest game of his career. This was a match to bring home the Gold Medal, and the six-foot-eight forward was determined to depart from Paris with a victory.
With the gold medal match included, Batum had played well throughout the Olympics. In six games, with a 4-2 record, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, shooting 43.2% from the floor and 32.0% from three.
His best performance occurred in a 12-point win against Brazil on July 27th, 2024. Batum posted 19 points, five boards, and two steals in 34 minutes of intense basketball.
Moreover, down 21 points at halftime, Batum gave his teammates an iconic speech that motivated France to play better in the Group Stage game against Germany.
Nicolas Batum's halftime speech in the Group Stage game versus Germany exemplifies the importance of his experience in the locker room.
In episode four of 'Court of Gold,' an Olympic documentary presented by Netflix, Nicolas Batum's halftime speech was shared for fans to see.
He stated, "Why are we here? What do we want? We want the Gold Medal? We don't know what we want. We're being taken apart. No one can get open. No one can score. We get screens in our faces all the time. They switch everything. No one responds...We are not like this team, we're better..If we want to beat this kind of team, we have to play together…"
These words from Batum directed a stronger second-half performance. His teammates understood what he was saying and began to communicate more, which resulted in a unique push to counter Germany, led by stars Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, and Dennis Schröder.
Following the speech, in an interview regarding the documentary, Batum noted, "I was pissed that…They were beating us like that. They were there to beat us up, and they did. Can we just respond and punch them back?"
Despite Batum's valuable experience and three-point shooting, France fell short to Germany by 14 points.
Watch Court of Gold only on Netflix.