Who is Isaia Cordinier? Meet France SG ahead of Olympics basketball gold medal showdown against USA

French guard Isaia Cordinier proved to be a major x-factor in France's semifinal win over Germany, erupting for 16 points as Les Bleus advanced to the Olympic gold medal game. Many fans may not remember Cordinier from the 2016 NBA draft. The guard was selected in the second round with the 44th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks.

He then suited up for the Hawks in the 2016 NBA Summer League, however he didn't wind up playing for the Hawks in the NBA. Instead, two years later, Cordinier's draft rights were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Jeremy Lin.

Much like his time in Atlanta, Cordinier didn't touch the floor in Brooklyn, leading to the team eventually renouncing his rights several years later in 2021. As a result, he wound up signing with Virtus Bologna, a team competing in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A.

As part of the team, Isaia Cordinier won the 2022 EuroCup championship, as well as two Italian SuperCups in back-to-back seasons. Most recently, he averaged career-highs across the board with 22.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game on 48.3% from the field.

Looking at how Isaia Cordinier played a pivotal role in France's win over Germany this week

This summer, through the group phase at the Olympics, Isaia Cordinier struggled to find his form. Despite that, when France needed him most, Cordinier stepped up in a big way.

In France's quarterfinal matchup against Canada, who finished third in the FIBA World Cup last summer, Cordinier scored 20 points over 24 minutes of play. In addition, he also logged three steals, the most he has recorded in any one game at the Olympics.

In the fourth quarter, Isaia Cordinier had the trust of coach Vincent Collet and the French fans in attendance as he received MVP chants late in the game.

He followed it up with a career-defining performance against Germany, battling on the boards to haul seven rebounds while contributing 16 points to France's total. Of his 16 points, 10 came in the first five minutes, giving France a much-needed boost.

On the defensive end of the floor, Cordinier came up big, recording two steals that helped the team advance to the gold medal match against the United States. After the game, Cordinier spoke to reporters in Paris, discussing his play while praising Collet for his pre-game motivational speech.

"It's an immense satisfaction," Cordinier said. "We worked during three days. We approached this game the right way and that gave us a lot of energy. Vincent (Collet) gave us a great motivational speech before the game and that's what we needed to hear."

While he is still under contract with Italy, his play has likely drawn the attention of NBA teams. It will be interesting to see if he gets any offers to play in the NBA going forward.