Head coach Gregg Popovich called it arrogant and immature for people to blame the U.S. for not winning the FIBA World Cup, speaking after the Americans won their last consolation game to finish seventh overall — their worst international tournament result ever.
“Some people want to play the blame game,” Popovich said. “There’s no blame to be placed anywhere, like we should be ashamed because we didn’t win a gold medal. It’s immature. It’s arrogant, and it shows whoever thinks that doesn’t respect all the other teams in the world. Their effort has been exceptional.”
The U.