London 2012: Basketball Teams Capable of Ruining USA's Gold Medal Hopes

Kobe Bryant thinks the 2012 men's Olympic basketball team could beat the original Dream Team, but if they're not careful, Kobe and company might not even leave London with the gold medal.

There are plenty of quality teams in the field, and with most boasting a couple of NBA stars, Team USA certainly won't coast to the title. They will need to be focused and hungry every game, or they will be in danger of falling to one of the following teams.

Spain

Team USA's biggest weakness is a lack of size. Unfortunately, size happens to be Spain's biggest strength.

Between seven-footers Pau and Marc Gasol, as well as shot-blocking extraordinaire Serge Ibaka, the Spaniards boast a menacing front line. With those three swatting shots, grabbing rebounds and scoring in the paint, they could seriously threaten Team USA's gold medal bid.

Spain is more than just those three players, though. They've also got quality point guards in Sergio Rodriguez and Jose Calderon, and shooting guard Rudy Fernandez can catch fire at any time.

Argentina

Argentina is always a threat to win it all, as they proved with their gold medal performance in the 2004 Olympics. This year's edition isn't as good as that team, but they can still make some noise in London.

San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili is the leader of the team, and if he's on point, the Argentinians will be very scary. 

Argentina also has quality NBA players Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets and Carlos Delfino of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lithuania

Lithuania is a powerhouse in international basketball, as they've always got a good mix of crafty veterans and promising youngsters.

This year's team is no different, as they will have talent all over the court.

With Lithuanian legend Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Toronto Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas, and NBA veteran Linas Kleiza, Lithuania will be a true contender in London.