As the US World Cup team took the floor for the start of the 2019 FIBA World Championships, it hardly looked like a USA team, dating all the way back to when amateurs were the only plyers available. After both FIBA and the Olympics declared professionals would be eligible to play for their requisite countries, the US team has been an incredible powerhouse. Is that all about to change?
Everyone connected to the sport of basketball has a vested interest in supporting the World Cup. That includes seemingly outside interests like a Eurocup betting sponsor that relies heavily on the USA team to draw betting interest. Based on the quality of the team that took the floor in China for its first game the Czech Republic, this USA team is far from a lock to take down the FIBA title.
No one is implying the US team lacks talent. It doesn’t, which was very evident in the team’s 88-67 thrashing of the Czech Republic. The team’s shining lights were as expected with Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz) leading the scoring with 16 points followed by Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings) with 14 points and Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics) kicking in with 13 points. It was a good team effort.
The problem the US team will eventually have to deal with is there are several teams that have just as much talent on its rosters. That hasn’t been the case in recent years. A quick look at Serbia reveals a roster loaded with NBA talent, including Denver Nuggets star power forward Nikola Jokic. Greece has a solid roster led by NBA MVP center Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even France has five decent NBA players on its roster. With the talent gap narrowing, there are as many as five to six teams that could win this year’s World Cup Tournament.
The Reasons
It’s difficult to pinpoint the reasons for the lack of participation by America’s elite players. Admittedly, NBA players are scheduled to start reporting for the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season by the end of September. Participation in a tournament so close to the start of the season could certainly serve as a distraction. There are also a usual number of players who are currently dealing with injury issues. That all seems to be standard fare. Unfortunately, there seems to be something more troubling lying underneath the surface.
The great pride America basketball players had for being the best in the world seems to have diminished. It might have to do with the internal struggles US citizens are having because of social issues that have besieged the nation. This level of turmoil has certainly compromised America nationalism. It might have to do with the fact there wouldn’t be any reasonable competition if Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Lebron James and Stephon Curry took their places on the court. Of course, none of that was lost on the 1992 Olympics Dream Team, which crushed the competition on the way to a gold medal.
At the end of the day, maybe the reasons don’t matter. This year’s tournament is wide open, something basketball purists can enjoy for the first time since 1992.
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