After the USA Basketball team's thrilling win in the Gold Medal game against Spain—yes, I stayed up to watch it—it became apparent that USA won because of all the reasons pundits said they would.
They played as a team. They weren't overly-egotistical prima donnas who wanted to play a glorified street game, a la 2004. They really, really cared about winning—and it showed in the final minutes of the gold-medal game, when the multimillionaires celebrated like a team that had just won their high school state championship.
So who were the catalysts in this gold medal run? While the team ran deep in talent, it was obvious who ran the team. Late in the close win over Spain, a few key players stood out in the win.
Without further ado; the top five most valuable players for the gold medal-winning USA Basketball Team:
5. LeBron James
The best athlete on the floor at all times, and arguably the best basketball player in the world. However, James is only the fifth-most valuable player on this team.
Why, you ask? Well, it's no fault of James', but often he found himself on the bench in foul trouble. But during James' time on the floor, his athleticism proved to be leaps and bounds ahead of his opponents.
The team's offense often ran through James, as the ball would get dumped down to LeBron at the free-throw line. He would, in turn, make a decision to dish it to the corner for a three, dump it inside to Chris Bosh or Dwight Howard, or take it himself.
He didn't often make the wrong decision. But the fact that he was one of the primary ballhandlers for the team is evident in the stats. He led the team in turnovers with 17, but was also second on the team in assists and points per game, and third in rebounds.
4. Dwyane Wade
Team USA's leading scorer often took over games like it was the '06 NBA Finals. When the team was in trouble and their lead was in jeopardy, the ball was almost always in Wade's hands, as he slashed to the hole for either a nifty layup or drawing contact to get to the free-throw line.
Wade got to the charity stripe more then any other player—however, he hit only 65 percent of his free throws.
But his value could not be overstated, as his propensity to hit big three-pointers—leading the team by shooting 47 percent from three-point range)—was always apparent.
3. Chris Bosh
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