What if our best isn’t good enough?
And even if our best still gets the job done, how close is USA Basketball to ceding absolute superiority?
At the Paris Olympics, we shouldn’t look at the results only as a referendum on Team USA. The greater pursuit should be to gain clarity about the entire state of this global game.
I’d argue the United States has yet to lose when it fields its best team of pro players. The setbacks have come when it rolls out “B” and “C” teams, either out of negligence or desperation because others declined to play.
This will be the ninth Olympics of the NBA era. In the previous eight, the Americans have gone 58-4 with seven gold medals and one bronze in Olympic play. Three of those losses came during the 2004 Athens Games, when an ill-fitting roster of emerging stars and mostly inefficient veterans shuffled to a third-place finish. The other loss came three years ago during the Tokyo Olympics, but the Americans recovered to win gold.
Put those losses with erratic FIBA World Cup efforts — including seventh- and fourth-place showings the past two tournaments — and the novelty of the United States losing with NBA players has mostly worn off. It’s still a major headline when the pros lose. It still inspires appropriate criticism, especially when the biggest stars waver on their commitment to the national team. But while we scrutinize our domestic player development practices and the athletes’ constant yo-yoing between a lack of interest and enthusiasm about competing, the more relevant story is the world.
For those who bark about going back to the days of college players, the perspective is too provincial. Team USA would rarely medal now if the roster didn’t include NBA players. Consider how much has changed: Before NBA players, the United States went 85-2 in Olympic play, with both losses coming against the Soviet Union, in 1972 and 1988, the first of which was perhaps the most controversial ending in basketball history.
From a U.S. perspective, the country didn’t lose fairly until it settled for bronze in the 1988 Seoul Games. USA Basketball reacted by unleashing the Dream Team in 1992, and in the NBA era of FIBA basketball, nothing inspires superstar motivation and engagement better than a redemption mission.
The dominance of a team headlined by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird inspired the rest of the world as much as it demoralized the competition. Only 12 years later, the Americans were taking disappointed pictures with bronze medals again in 2004. That led to the Redeem Team in 2008 and an even more potent squad in 2012. Although the United States also captured gold in 2016 and 2021, it has had to overcome a lack of interest and a few superstar injuries to triumph without several of the game’s elite players. But after a lackluster fourth-place showing at the 2023 World Cup with an undersized “C” team full of young stars, the very best players are eager to reclaim American basketball superiority.
It’s cool to be on Team USA again, so cool that frustrated NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown sits at home hinting at conspiracy, so cool that premature debate rages about the theoretical greatness of this team. It makes for fun discussion, but through two exhibition games we’ve all seen the challenging path ahead.
This isn’t about a bunch of big names chasing gold and the clout that comes with it. This isn’t about putting on a show. This is about a group of elite talents and high-caliber role players defying time to come together as a team. In their first 10 days together, the promise and potential struggles of this squad have been on display.
During a 98-92 victory over Australia on Monday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the U.S. team looked fantastic while building a 22-point lead, and then the Americans almost lost that cushion amid a rash of turnovers and poor defense. More time and familiarity will cure some of the turnovers. But Australia scored 68 points in the paint, exposing the Americans’ defensive difficulties staying in front of players driving to the basket. In terms of rim protection, Anthony Davis continued to be a force. In addition to his great post defense, he finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds in 18 minutes. Bam Adebayo had a few moments defensively. The starting center, Joel Embiid, has yet to make a defensive impact.
In many Olympics, the great differentiator for Team USA has been ball-hawking defenders who pressure guards at the point of attack. To be so gifted, this team isn’t as equipped to play that way as past versions. It is better than the World Cup team from a year ago, which finished fourth because it couldn’t harass opponents on defense and didn’t have enough size.
Team USA managing director Grant Hill and Coach Steve Kerr have addressed the size issue, assuming Embiid gets in better shape over the next two weeks. But even with the late addition of Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, who replaced a laboring Kawhi Leonard, the team remains at least one high-level perimeter defender shy of being truly disruptive.
Over the next few weeks, maybe someone sacrifices offense to become that defensive playmaker. Or maybe this is a team that has to win with extraordinary offensive efficiency, which is a challenge with so little time to prepare. To be that dangerous, the availability of Kevin Durant, who is recovering from a calf strain, looms large.
Despite all the talent, it already seems certain that Team USA won’t be the most dominant American team to take the court. It doesn’t make this group lesser, though. The assumption of dominance is no longer a luxury, not even with an A-list roster. If you’re looking for someone to blame, look at France, Canada, Germany, Serbia, Australia and other medal contenders. It could turn out to be the greatest 12-team basketball tournament the Olympics has ever seen.
For a good run, USA Basketball doesn’t need to bring the Dream Team back to life. Surviving host France and the rest of the field would be plenty significant.