- USA Basketball sent home empty-handed after losing the Bronze medal game
- Steve Kerr shares his initial thoughts on the disappointing FIBA run
- Team USA losing ground in the worldwide basketball race
In the aftermath of their loss to Germany last week, Team USA was bombarded with criticism from angry and disappointed Americans. But after losing the Bronze medal game against Canada on Sunday, the backlash was increased ten-fold.
At the podium following the loss, head coach Steve Kerr didn’t hold back on the experience and admitted that he felt bad for his players. “I feel bad for my guys,” Kerr said, via Bleacher Report. “I feel bad for my guys. It’s hard to build continuity because we have so much turnover from year to year,” he said. “We have to focus on what’s winning a FIBA game. The NBA is very different from FIBA and some things will be good and vice versa. There’s a lot to learn for sure.”
USA’s defeat against Canada marks the second straight year that they failed to finish in the top three. This sort of failure is new for USA Basketball, which has a world-leading 16 FIBA gold medals to its name. But now, it appears as if the glory days are over for Team USA, and winning the gold is going to get harder and harder over time.
Has The World Finally Caught Up To Team USA?
Many factors played a role in the USA’s underwhelming World Cup performance, but the biggest of them is probably the worldwide increase in talent. In years past, other countries rarely produced top-level basketball talent, and when the US was allowed to recruit professional players in 1989, they were so far ahead of the field that it was almost unfair to everyone else.
But thanks to the NBA’s growing reach, and their successful efforts to globalize the game itself, the world has seemingly caught up to the Americans.”The game has been globalized over the last 30 years or so. These games are difficult,” said Kerr after the loss to Germany. “This is not 1992 anymore. Players are better all over the world, teams are better and it’s not easy to win a World Cup or an Olympic game.”
With the rise of international superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and (most recently) Victor Wembanyama, we can see how the game has evolved overseas and with the way that things are going, the USA might be in danger of falling hopelessly behind.
There Is Hope For USA Basketball
While the situation may look dire now, not all hope is lost for the future of Team USA. This year, the team missed out on some of the game’s top stars and they had to settle for role-players instead.
With Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jalen Brunson as the closest things to stars on the squad, Team USA did not have their best team out there this summer and it would’ve been a different story if they did.
Next summer, for the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, we could see the mega stars make a return to the scene with guys like Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant rumored to be making appearances. But until the fans see that for themselves, the concern for this team only gets stronger as the rest of the world shows how good they are.
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