Over the years, it is safe to say that USA men’s basketball has gone downhill. A team that countries used to be scared to play now cannot even finish with a medal.
In the past 10 years, the entire team USA roster has changed. What was a gold medal team in 2014, changed to a 7th place finish in 2019. The competition in 2014 was almost non-existent because of the skill on the team.
The 2014 team included players such as Anthony Davis, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Those are some of the top players in the NBA, the best league on the planet. These players are almost impossible to replace, as they are generational talents. So why did players like them choose not to participate in the next FIBA tournament?
Lots of players blame sitting out on the risk of injury that the FIBA tournament presents. A great example is Paul George breaking his leg during a team USA scrimmage. Paul George at the time and currently is one of the best guards in the NBA. He went for a black during a scrimmage and landed on his leg, where it twisted. It is one of the more horrific injuries in team USA history.
That injury really changed a lot of players’ mindsets. It made them realize that risk of injury comes with playing for team USA. Winning might not be team USA players first focus, but it is for other countries. When the other countries main focus is winning, they are going to play physically and aggressive.
The difference between the 2014 team USA roster and the 2019 team USA roster was significant. The 2019 team was led by Jayston Tatum and Donovan Mitchell. One would think that the team would be good with Tatum and Mitchell leading them, but that’s not exactly the case.
The rest of that 2019 team was filled with borderline all-stars and rotational players. Now these players are still significantly better than 90 percent of the players on the other countries teams, but those players are nowhere close to the talent of the players on the 2019 team.
NBA superstar Lebron James was quoted by USA today saying “He needed the offseason to rest.” This makes sense for someone at James age, as he was mid-thirties at the time. James was said to have been focused on an NBA title and saw team USA as off putting for younger players.
It is almost a domino effect the way that players decide to sit out of team USA basketball. When a star sits out, another star sits out. Former Washington wizard and current Phoenix sun star Bradley Beal said in an interview, “Why would I want to go potentially be the face of what could be a losing roster.”
With all the stars sitting out, players like Beal that have an interest in playing for team USA don’t want to because they feel as if the team isn’t good enough to win.
This shows just how little players in the USA have pride in their country. USA have been notorious for being the best at basketball, and it has never been close. But as players opt out of playing, the title and look of being the best basketball country will start to fade.
