Breaking down the good, bad and ugly from the Boomers' Paris Olympic campaign

The Australian Boomers were a rollercoaster ride at the Paris Olympics, and they ultimately went out in spectacular fashion.

Among the euphoric highs and devastating lows of Olympic competition, following the Australian Boomers was the ultimate rollercoaster ride.

Inconsistency is inevitable in any sport, but in France, the Boomers took it to the extreme. It wasn’t just game by game, it was quarter by quarter, minute by minute, and possession by possession. When all was said and done, the bad outweighed the good, with a 1-3 record sending them crashing out in the quarter-finals.

For a team that held aspirations of winning a second straight Olympic medal, it was a disappointing result. Following a quarter-final loss to Serbia in which they capitulated after leading by 24 points, the players were visibly emotional as they left the court and faced the end of their tournament. “We were so close, we had so many chances… it’s heartbreaking, and it kills me that I have to wait four more years for another chance at this,” Josh Giddey said postgame while holding back tears.

While it ended in horrible fashion, it’s hard to know exactly how to feel about the campaign as a whole. The team’s ups and downs caused similar swings in expectations, and the resulting emotional whiplash is a lot to wade through. Last year’s 10th-place World Cup finish sapped public belief ahead of Paris, and a squad selection that drew outrage from plenty only added to the uncertainty. A string of impressive warmup performances and a win over Spain brought hope, but from there, the pendulum swung wildly. Some promising moments weren’t enough against Canada, an awful first half wasn’t quite undone by a gritty defensive effort against Greece, and finally, a scorching hot start against Serbia was whittled away until they were finally overrun in overtime.

Amongst all of that, where on earth did the true potential of this team lie? We’ll never really know the answer to that question; the only thing that’s certain is what unfolded on the court in Lille and Paris.

Game plan or execution – where did it go wrong?

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The game plan for these Boomers was clear from day one. They would scrap like hell defensively to get stops, with switch-heavy schemes utilising the long, athletic wings on the roster; from there, they would look for easy baskets in transition, with Giddey able to attack non-set defences and make plays on the fly.

When it worked, it was glorious. They raced out to an early lead against Spain with crisp ball movement and cutting, piling on 31 points in the first term to set up the win; defensively, they flexed their muscle against Greece, allowing just 24 second-half points as they very nearly stole the game late. “They are an incredible defence. A clinic from them,” Greece star and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo told ESPN after scoring just five of his 20 points in the second half.

When it didn’t work, it was painful, and the Boomers were painfully inconsistent. The matchup with Spain was as close as they came to four full quarters of good execution, and even then, La Roja came storming back to lead in the third quarter and put the pressure on. Australia’s late comeback against Greece wasn’t enough after a horror second quarter where they were outscored 28-12, and of course, they saw that 24-point lead over Serbia evaporate in the quarter-final.

In every loss, all of their good work was brought undone by one thing: turnovers. Taking care of the ball was an issue from well before the tournament even started in warmup games in Abu Dhabi and France, but the hope was that they would tighten things up in the tournament proper. Instead, they struggled even more in the heat of Olympic play, with their 17.5 turnovers per game leading all teams.

Some of that comes naturally with an uptempo style, where Giddey and his fellow guards are given licence to create and attack. Too often, though, they made sloppy and unforced mistakes, forcing the issue when cooler heads were needed. “We play fast, but I think if we can continue to learn to play in a slower environment, when you do both, you can put yourself in a position to win a medal,” centre Jock Landale told ESPN after the loss to Canada, where the Boomers committed 18 turnovers and gave up 28 points off of them.

It’s those live-ball turnovers that really hamstrung them, and they gave up more than 20 points off turnovers per game in the tournament. The damage goes beyond the scoreboard impact, though, given their whole style of play relied on a perfect ebb and flow from one side of the ball to the other. Good offensive execution would allow them to set up their defence in the full court, which would force misses or turnovers and create opportunities to run, and so on.

Instead, as they gave the ball away, they were consistently robbed of any rhythm at either end of the floor. “A lot of hero ball, a lot of bounce that led to us not being able to play the defence that we play… horrible shots, turnovers,” Goorjian said of the team’s first half against Greece, where they gave up 53 points and committed 10 turnovers.

In spite of all of that, the Boomers were right in the fight in every single game, and went out pushing bronze medalists Serbia all the way into overtime. Ultimately, they were beaten by three of the top four in last year’s NBA MVP voting, all of whom were surrounded by deep rosters or capable role players. When all was said and done, the Boomers finished in sixth place, with four of the teams ahead of them featuring at least one NBA All-Star, the lone exception being world champions Germany.

There’s no shame in that result or the losses that the Boomers suffered, but the way that it played out leaves a sour taste. The late comeback against Greece was only necessary because of a truly awful first half, and the collapse against Serbia was only possible because of one and a half quarters of stunning shot-making. Australia proved that their best was good enough to compete with the best in the world, but the fact that so much of what brought them undone was self-inflicted makes it hard to appreciate that fact.

It was fitting that their tournament ended on a turnover, with one last mistake robbing them of the final shot against Serbia. When it comes down to it, you can’t give talented teams extra opportunities and expect to beat them. Giddey put it best in his emotional postgame interview: “every possession matters, and it can go so quick”.

Giddey, Mills, and the changing of the guard

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Last year’s World Cup was the first step in a refresh of the Boomers program, with the core that had been in place for more than a decade mashed together with a new wave of NBA talent. No one was naive enough to think that that transition would be done less than a year later, least of all Goorjian. “I talked about the learning process. I know nobody wants to hear that right now… we have new players, a lot of them haven't played in this before so when you get under pressure it all emerges,” the coach told ESPN during the Olympic tournament.

At the forefront of that were Patty Mills and Josh Giddey, one the longtime face of the program nearing the end of his career, the other a rising star handed the keys to the team. The generational shift of the Boomers covers the whole roster, but it starts with the two leaders who still sat awkwardly as 1A and 1B in Paris. It makes sense, then, that the highs and lows of the team largely started with them too.

For Mills, the writing was on the wall after an NBA season in which he barely hit the court, followed by some rough shooting in Australia’s early warmup games. He hit back briefly with a strong performance against Serbia in Abu Dhabi, but there were still plenty of questions around his role and effectiveness at age 35. In the end, that summed his tournament up – moments of trademark brilliance, sprinkled throughout a lot of tough stretches.

His first-half explosion against Serbia will stick in the memory for a long time, with 20 points and some ridiculously tough shot-making leading the Boomers to a huge lead. Fast forward to the end of regulation, and it was yet another fadeaway, jawdropping, heartstopping jumper that kept Australia’s hopes alive and sent the game into overtime. In short, it was vintage FIBA Patty. “He can still go; he hasn't lost a step… the success of the Boomers to this stage, a lot goes to him,” Goorjian said to ESPN post-game.

Unfortunately, that kind of performance was no longer the standard – it was the outlier. In the second half and overtime, as Australia’s lead disappeared, he shot 3-10 from the field and had four turnovers. Take out that first half, and he shot just 34% from the field across the tournament, and in all but one game he had at least four turnovers. The more he tried to do, the more he came unstuck, either over-dribbling or forcing a pass that wasn’t there.

That hurt doubly, knowing that the team desperately needed Mills to succeed. “People say the ball’s in [Mills’] hands [too much]. We don't have another guy that does what he does,” Goorjian told ESPN after his team’s elimination. “We don't have a guy who can create shots and can get shots up under pressure and score in a half court setting.” He should have been the ultimate decoy in the second half against Serbia, but a lack of reliable creation on the perimeter left him gunning away through the extra attention.

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Things were a little gentler for Giddey, who built on a promising World Cup to again lead the team in scoring and assists and ranked second in rebounding. He showed growth as a scorer, consistently getting to his spots inside the arc and shooting with confidence while also knocking down 47.4% of his threes. Goorjian made it clear last year that this team was his to run, and the roster and game plan were once again built with him at the centre.

With that role, came plenty of bumps in the road. In a tournament where the Boomers were unravelled by turnovers, Giddey was the main offender. He averaged five per game to trail only Spain’s Lorenzo Brown among all players, and while some of those mistakes were passable as he looked to push the boundaries in transition, others were inexcusable moments of laziness, carelessness, or recklessness.

Maybe none of that should have been surprising. After all, Giddey is still just 21 years old and came into his Olympic debut with the expectations of a nation on his shoulders. Add in his most recent NBA season, where he had the ball taken out of his hands, dealt with off-court issues throughout, and was ultimately benched in the playoffs, some rust was probably to be expected. There’s reason to hope that age and experience will smooth over some of those rough edges as he finds the balance between creativity and control.

You could make an argument that Giddey and Mills were Australia’s two most important players – the former the undisputed engine of the offence, and the latter the only high-level shot creator on the roster. The problem was, they just weren’t a great fit together. Neither were plus defenders on a team that wanted their guards to press in the full court, and both wanted the ball in their hands more often than not. Goorjian needed them both on the court as much as possible, but he also had to try and separate them to make them most effective. It was an impossible task, only made more difficult as both rode their own ups and downs.

Roster construction and the “what ifs”

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Mills will be 39 by the next World Cup, but Goorjian won’t rule out another Boomers campaign for him – “I'd be speaking out of turn to say he's done”. Still, if he is there in Qatar, you’d have to think it will be in a much lesser role as the shift from old to new continues. With that eye to the future, there were plenty of positives to take away from Paris.

For all of Giddey’s issues taking care of the ball, the good far outweighed the bad, and he looks to have found a backcourt running mate for the next decade-plus in Dyson Daniels. The newly-traded Atlanta Hawk was a defensive menace, hassling and hounding opposing guards the full length of the court. Just look at the bodies left in his wake – Lorenzo Brown finished with seven points and seven turnovers against the Boomers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a tournament-low 16 points, and while Bodgan Bogdanovic made some big shots in the quarter-final, he shot just 6-17 from the field. Add in some unexpected offensive punch – he had double-digit points in three of Australia’s four games, along with eight assists against Greece – and Daniels has fully emerged as a building block for the future.

Also in that category is Jock Landale, who will be 31 when the next World Cup starts and still in his prime. His impact on this team was already clear from his absence at last year’s World Cup, but he may have been even better than expected at this Olympics as arguably the Boomers’ most impressive player. In the group stage, he was everything they needed; the perfect pick and roll partner for Giddey, a bailout option in the low post, a savvy passer from the elbows, and the mobile defensive centre needed in Goorjian’s schemes. 

He, Daniels and Giddey should be the first three on the plane to Qatar, and after their efforts in lifting Australia out of the group stage, you’d hope they’re given an exit row seat. Danté Exum would be close behind after playing through a wound on his shooting hand and enjoying another strong tournament; he’ll be 32 in 2027, and it’s hard to imagine his play declining by then with his recent trajectory.

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Looking further down the roster, it might be time to revisit some of the pre-tournament discourse around the squad that was selected. Goorjian named his final 12, and the whole country went into meltdown; now that the tournament is over, there’s been plenty on social media still singing a similar tune. There’s one big question on everyone’s lips: would a different squad have changed the final outcome?

Let’s address the biggest elephant in the room first: Matisse Thybulle would not have made a meaningful difference in Paris. Yes, he might have had some eyecatching defensive plays here and there, but on a team that still lacked offensive punch, the complete unwillingness to shoot that he showed in the warmup games would have kept him anchored to the bench. Just look at Josh Green, who came into the tournament after an NBA Finals run with Dallas and loomed as a potential starter. He looked exhausted and failed to make a single shot in the tournament, and his minutes were slashed as a result. Thybulle will have a role in the program moving forward, but his non-selection was a non-factor here.

Goorjian knew he couldn’t build a perfectly balanced roster with the players at his disposal. Instead of trying and failing to do so, he leaned into a high-ceiling game plan and picked players specifically suited to that style. Cast your eyes down the final squad of 12 and the last players cut, and it’s hard to argue too much. Matthew Dellavedova was much-maligned but played key minutes and made good things happen; Chris Goulding’s shooting punch would have been handy, but he would have been lost trying to press and switch defensively; Jack McVeigh was a bolter to be picked, but he hit some huge shots and brought plenty of energy; Will Magnay wasn’t perfect but brought a physical edge off the bench.

“I just feel like every decision that was made was for the betterment of the team and for the best that we could do for the Boomers and the country. I feel very proud of where it is and how we played in the tournament,” Goorjian said following the quarter-final loss.

There’s an argument to be made for Xavier Cooks and against Nick Kay – and don’t worry, it is being made in countless comment sections online – but that comes with the benefit of hindsight. Kay had his fair share of struggles during the tournament, but as recently as the warmup games he was a key cog in the Boomers defence that earned wins over eventual medalists Serbia and France. Like Green, he suffered a slump at the worst possible time, and that very fairly opens him up to criticism and questions. Same goes for Joe Ingles, who didn’t play in three of four games; that complete lack of burn warrants discussion, but look across every Olympic team and you’ll see a scarcely used 12th man that brings half the leadership credentials of Ingles. On a team leaning so heavily on youth, his experience in that final slot was fine.

Ultimately, this collection of players just about hit their peak, and had a few little moments fallen differently, they would have been in the medal rounds. That their best was good enough to match it with the likes of Jokić and Bogdanovic-led Serbia is a small tick; now, they need to find the pieces to push them over the top and into genuine contention. Recently drafted Indiana Pacer Johnny Furphy looms as the perimeter scorer and playmaker they’ve been needing, as does Duke standout Tyrese Proctor, while NBL Next Stars Rocco Zikarsky and Alex Toohey will hopefully continue to rise and push for selection.

A new coach will also step in as Goorjian moves aside, and that decision will be absolutely crucial. The Boomers have proven to be capable as an elite defensive team; now, if they can find both a refined offensive coach and a handful of players with the right skillset on that end of the floor, their ceiling could rise even higher.

A quick tip of the cap…

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There will be plenty more to be said once things are made official, but it would be sacrilege to not acknowledge the Boomers that may have had their last dance. Ingles has almost certainly played his last game for Australia, and while Mills and Dellavedova could still have one more run in them, it’s becoming less likely with every passing tournament. All three had their papers stamped as Boomers legends long before this Olympic run, and even before winning that famous Rose Gold medal in 2021. After each debuting more than 15 years ago, they led the team through countless challenges and helped Australian basketball onto a trajectory that, as it stands, has no end in sight.

“Through thick and thin, the ups and downs, the happy tears, the sad tears, it's been an incredible journey to be able to share with those guys,” Mills told ESPN after what could have been his final game. “Hopefully the legacy we will leave at some point will be able to help the younger guys for years to come.”

The same goes for Goorjian, who enjoyed his own fair share of highs and lows over two stints as Boomers coach. He’s copped plenty of whacks in recent years, some fairly and plenty less so, but his impact in leading Australia’s men to their first medal in a major tournament can’t be understated. The players were the stars of the show, but that triumph was also a coaching masterclass from start to finish. With Goorjian further confirming his departure from the program in recent days, hopefully even his detractors can think back to that glorious run in Tokyo and give him his flowers.

“Myself personally in my heart and the people I care about. I'm proud of what I've done for Australian basketball, I'm proud of what I've done for the Boomers,” Goorjian said of his journey with the team.

Longer farewells will surely come down the road… but for now, thanks for everything.