- Charles Barley makes the case for why a Team USA loss might be good for the game of basketball
- Chuck says popularity for the sport would boom for the winning nation that beat the USA
- USA is losing its stranglehold on international basketball
When it comes to the sport of basketball, the USA is king and it’s been that way for decades now. After years of stacking gold medals, the expectation every year is for Team USA to take home the first-place prize, and anything less than that is typically deemed as a failure.
But according to NBA legend Charles Barkley, a loss in the World Cup might not actually be a bad thing for the US, the sport, or the world. “They act like if we don’t win the gold medal it’s going to be the worst thing to ever happen to civilization,” said Barkley. “I actually disagree with that. I think it’d be great. Because I think it’d really help with popularity in one of these little third-world countries if they won the gold medal. Can you imagine if France won the gold medal? How popular would basketball become in France?”
The USA has basically had a monopoly on the sport, and it’s why interest hasn’t expanded further in some European countries. But with guys like Victor Webanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic currently dominating the basketball world, it’s fair to say that things are changing in that regard.
Pretty soon, Team USA might struggle to win gold every year — but it might actually be what’s needed to expand the game and grow interest worldwide.
Team USA Is Falling Behind
This year, we’re seeing some of our young stars carry the load for Team USA. Thanks to Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brunson, and plenty of others, the US is still undefeated in counted games and they are on track to stay that way.
Even so, the world is getting better and better while Team USA continues to rill roster spots with All-Stars and role-players instead of the best of the best.
The truth is, unless Team USA can bring back the star power and establish control on the international stage, the trend is likely to keep sliding the other way and it will be interesting to see what happens if the team somehow does get de-throned in the near future.
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