USA Basketball in international competition used to be about the U.S. just making sure every country know this was our game. The Dream Team made other countries look like kids in an elementary school playground.
Basketball was invented in the USA and the best athletes lay here, but since those Dream Team days the rest of the world has been learning the game.
I was playing in a tournament with a bunch of top players from Italy and it just made my mouth drop on how well they knew the game. With most kids in the U.S., the best dunker is the best basketball player. To these Italians, it was about being the smartest basketball player on the court.
Fundamentals are what every person thinks about international players and they are right. At a young age they are taught and disciplined in schools of the game. That is why international players are flocking to the NBA. The play is not as physical as it is in the U.S., but they are catching up.
There have been no Dream Teams recently, since all the U.S. has been winning are silver and bronze medals. Even though the rest of the world is getting better at the game, the teams we have put out there have not been able to compete with them. There are no excuses for us to not win the gold.
This Olympics, to no surprise, we are the favorites again to win the gold. I disagreed with that four years ago and I disagree once again. We beat down Turkey today, but really how can they put up 87 points and make our defense look like Mike D'Antoni's Suns on pick and rolls?
Spain, Greece, and Argentina are all big competition as they all have made legit teams that have NBA talent. Spain is my favorite to win the gold this year as Argentina was mine the last Olympics.
Spain has the chemistry since they all play together and also have a pure international level team that will flourish in the Olympics.
The names you may know are Pau and Marc Gasol. The other names to look out for are Portland Trailblazer Rudy Fernandez (who I think will start next season), Ricky Rubio (who will be a favorite to be the No. 1 pick next year), and Raptors' starting point guard Jose Calderon.
Spain has the chemistry and a deep bench. They can take you in the post, run and guard the fast break, and hit outside shots. They are built for this kind of thing. It is their game.
Argentina is another favorite with the big men who can make it tough on the U.S. Luis Scola and Walter "Fabio" Hermann are no players to sleep on. Add Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni, and they are looking to repeat with the gold.
The U.S. could dominate if we had the best players out there. Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Amare Stoudamire are a number of players who would dominate but do not want to play.
Every team sees representing their country as a pride thing. The U.S. lacked that pride the past few years. This year I see it more, since they have something to prove.
Here is what I would change for the U.S. lineup (not considering players like Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudamire who did not want to play):
PG: Chris Paul/Dwayne Wade
SG: Kobe Bryant/Michael Redd/Kyle Korver
SF: LeBron James/Ron Artest/Joe Johnson
PF: Carlos Boozer/David West
C: Dwight Howard/Rasheed Wallace
19 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Travis R. 11 months ago
Melo not on the team?
You're not serious right?
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Monty Singh 11 months ago
Hes selfish and just a pure scorer. Selfish in a good NBA way but with guys like Kobe and LEBron they do not need another scorer.
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Josh Norman 11 months ago
I would like to see Bosh on that revised team. He's very athletic, smart fundamentally, is a decent shooter, and is very quick getting to the basket. His game, to me at least, seems perfect for this sort of tournament.
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Robert Kleeman 11 months ago
So, you know people in every NBA front office and you are competing with the top players in Italy? Who are you, and if you are not full of it, why are you writing for Bleacher Report?
As for your suggestions, I would go in a different direction. I would find a way to get Tyson Chandler and Mike Miller on the roster. I still think the U.S. needs one more pure shooter, and Miller would fill that roll, and another bruising big, and of the players that made the three-year committment, Chandler best fits that role.
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Monty Singh 11 months ago
I write for fun to kill time. i play ball n nothin to do in the afternoon.
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Derek Stephens 11 months ago
"There have been no Dream Teams recently, since all the U.S. has been winning are silver and bronze medals"
You do realize that the USA Dream Team won gold until 2004, when they won bronze. They went 8-0 in 92, 96, and 00.
The team in 04 had inexperienced players in Wade, LeBron, and Carmelo. Those players were pups to the NBA then and very unpolished. Also, the past team never had a proven leader, and this year Kobe Bryant has proven to be a leader.
Look for them to take gold once again.
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jojopapa 11 months ago
The interesting thing about the 04 team is those inexperienced players may have been the best players and proved it when they had the chance, but the coach wouldn't play them.
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Chendaddy 11 months ago
You forgot the world championship teams. The 1998 scrub team during the NBA lockout still finished with a respectable bronze. Then they went back to an NBA All-Star (plus Raef LaFrentz & Jay Williams) team in 2002 and finished an embarrassing sixth place.
This year's team looks impressive, but they really have no size outside Bosh (who barely qualifies as "size") and Howard. We'll see what happens when they have to face a team like Spain with the Gasol brothers in group play.
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sam the fact checker 11 months ago
um...quoting travis...wheres melo...
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Ryan Hartung 11 months ago
If u want a shooter why in the world Korver.... there r way better shooters have u ever heard of Ray Allen. Melo would destroy any international player he needs to be on the roster. Kidd is the perfect international player, smart and tough. Ron Artest would do nothing but hurt the team running his mouth. Lastly where is Prince, he is the most versitle player on the USA roster and one of the best defender and can hit the three.
Next time u rite an article make sure u do some research on the topic. This is the new DREAM TEAM, no team can compete with Kobe, Lebron, Wade, MELO, Paul, and Howard.
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jojopapa 11 months ago
Regardless of what you think of his defense, no Anthony is a joke. He's been one of the best things about the team. I nearly stopped reading when I saw, "The play is not as physical as it is in the U.S." The parts about the team needing "dirty" play is just insulting.
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Monty Singh 11 months ago
If you play ball or know anythin about ball playin dirty is apart of the game. Playin dirty is having that swagger, getting physical, bumping your man with your body, and talking smack Every championship team has that player or two.
anthony couldnt cover his own shadow. I played with him last summer and he has all the tools to be one of the best scorers (with AI on his team not talked about), but defenssively lacks effort because he wants to save it for scoring.
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jojopapa 11 months ago
I do play the game and know the game. When it's the US, "dirty" doesn't fit in international basketball. FIBA rules and refs aren't going to let the US get away with the stuff they can get away with while playing for their club teams. We have a limited bench and players only get five fouls. You can have Kobe out there talking in 15 different languages, but the refs aren't going to like that and his presence is enough to get into the heads of most. The US doesn't need dirty play to dominate a game or get in the head of opposition players. I still think it is silly to think the international game is "soft" when every season the NBA gets softer and more about finesse and intentional fouls on breakaways were just added to FIBA rules.
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Buzz Harnett 11 months ago
It is a shame Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett are not on the team. Both are NBA champions because they have the "will" to win and, just as importantly, the "will not" as in will not let the team lose.
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Buzz Harnett 11 months ago
No player from NBA championship team is a shame --- Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett would be the ticket if they cared about putting USA basketball back at the top of the world where it belongs.
We invented the sport. Not winning Olympics or World championships is shameful and embarassing --- as Brazil or Spain or Italy would be if US won the soccer world cup.
Experience or lack thereof is what has hurt the US recently. Pierce and Garnett have the experience and the indominable "will" and just as importantly the "will not" ie. they will not let their teams lose --- hence NBA champions.
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Mike Ramirez 11 months ago
your on crack buddy, USA is gonna win the gold hands down!!!
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Mike Turnell 11 months ago
Melo is so much better in FIBA play rather than NBA. The reason Team USA is picked to win is because they all play defense now. The team is great as it is, and I think it's the second best of all time, next to the Dream Team, of course.
And by the way, Sheed is a power forward and Wade is a shooting guard. And why is David West mimicing Boozer's play such a good thing? I thought having a variety of players kept the defense honest.
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Mike Turnell 11 months ago
Also, the reason teams past have been bad is because of major roster problems. This year, guys like Marbury aren't running the team. With an incredible backcourt tandem of Paul, Kidd, Williams, Kobe, Redd, and Wade, every aspect of the game is covered.
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Manu Ginobili 10 months ago
I think Argentina has a great opportunity to win the gold medal again: Ginobili, Scola, Nocioni, Delfino, Oberto they are all NBA starters and incredible players as well.
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