Unselfish U.S. makes 8th straight Olympic final in women's hoops - ESPN

PARIS — It's hard to quantify the greatest passing teams in basketball history — the Argentina men from the 2000s or perhaps the San Antonio Spurs from the mid-2010s have a case. But it is fair to say this version of the Team USA women, full of masters of the art, is among the candidates.

Watching the Americans execute offense and share the ball over the past two weeks in France has been somewhere between a clinic and an exhibition. The ball moves with an unselfishness, confidence and ease that belies the idea that this team was relatively rushed together.

The display Friday night was brilliant and at the same time typical, as Team USA racked up 31 assists on its way to an 85-64 semifinal victory over Australia. The Americans, now winners of 60 consecutive Olympic games, will play for their eighth straight gold medal Sunday.

Breanna Stewart, whose ability to outrun almost everyone on the floor at all times earns her so many good looks, had another strong game with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and five assists. Her dominant frontcourt mate A'ja Wilson put in 10 points with eight rebounds.

Jackie Young, whose move into the starting lineup for the medal round has proved to be a shrewd move by coach Cheryl Reeve, had 14 points. Kahleah Copper added 11 points off the bench.

The statisticians at the Olympics might be a tad friendly when it comes to charting the assists, but the U.S. is probably deserving of most of the ones in the gray area with the way its players share the ball.

The raw numbers showed the Americans had assists on 27 of their first 28 baskets, a number that is hard to fathom unless you see how Team USA cuts and screens as it operates what can only be described as a beautiful brand of