Yes.
Really.
1- You are right to pinpoint Canada and France. But that’s it. No other country has that concentrated level of talent. Giannis in Greece was a non factor, Embiid couldn’t even play for Cameroon, etc. So when people say ‘the wOrlD caTcHin up’ it’s really overblown. The WORLD collectively is but individual countries are not. We lost to argentina 20 years ago. Battled with Spain 15 years ago. Where they at? They platuead if not fell off completely
The problem with this is, you're speaking of the state as it's right now. A lot can change between now and 2028.
As I've just pointed out, there's a greater influx of international talent into the NBA. The first two lottery picks of this year's draft are international players; six of the lottery picks are international players (that's nearly half). Any number of those players could turn into stars. You have international players deeper on the board who could become stars.
And that's just that draft class.
"There were a record 125 players from 40 countries on opening-day NBA rosters last October. That's almost six times as many international players as the league had in 1992, the year that the Dream Team helped basketball take off internationally."
The last time an American-born player won MVP was 2018, and that drought is likely to continue with Luka and SGA being the favorites to win this upcoming season. That's the type of concentrated talent you need to win. Team USA were running closing lineups with 4 MVPs in them. Is that level of concentrated talent going to be there in 2028? No. The margin of talent is going to be a lot closer next time around.
If you're admitting that Canada and France but will be threats, then that's enough. There only needs to be one team that's better than Team USA.
Just look at the players that France can potentially have on their squad in 2028:
Wemby (#1 pick)
Risacher (#1 pick)
Sarr (#2 pick)
Saluan (#6 pick)
Coulibaly (#7 pick)
Dieng (#11 pick)
Then you have the likes of Nolan Traore who's projected to go #2 in next year's draft. And Noa Essengue, who's projected to be a lottery pick too.
And you wanna sit there and say the world
catching up is overblown? Nxgga, they're right here banging at the front door, and by the time the next Olympics comes around, they'll already have kicked that shyt down, sleeping up in our cribs, eating off our plates.
2- Peopke talk about the 3 point shot like it’s new. Folk been talking that ‘the 3 point line is a equalizer’ for 20 years now
20 years ago, the league-average for 3-pt attempts was 14.9 per game. Now, just to put that into perspective - in 1995, the league-average for 3-pt attempts was 15.3. The 3-pt shot 20 years was an afterthought for offenses. It was no more than complimentary.
You know what the league-average for 3pt attempts was last year?
35 per game.
It's the main attraction of offenses now. Entire offenses are centered around the shot.
We just saw a Serbia team, who was scarce on talent in comparison, push Team USA to the brink of elimination because they got hot from behind the arc. It was the ultimate equalizer for them to make up for what they lacked in talent (and athleticism). And you wanna know the funny thing about how Team USA ended up coming from behind and winning?
They needed the 3-pt shot.
They needed the greatest shooter to ever live to hit 9 threes to beat a considerably less talented team.
The talent gap is still large, very large. They still have no answer for athleticism elite guard play and athleticism.
Serbia just proved that they didn't need "elite guard play" nor "athleticism" to compete. They just needed ONE player (who can't jump over a phonebook) and 3-pt shooting.
What elite guard play will Team USA have in 2028 as it now stands? Will they have an answer to the international top-tier talent in 2028? Perhaps so, but it will be in the form of generational talent like they've had available to them over the last 20 years?
On that point about elite guard play and athleticism - we just won a gold medal with the three most important players in their mid-to-late 30s, two of which aren't even guards and all three whose respective athleticism, was a shell of their former selves, which granted is still better than much of the competition, but they won because of their IQ and experience.
We really had Cam Johnson, Josh hart, mikal bridges, walker Kessler on the same team
Why? Bc too many Cacs involved romanticizing ‘3&D’ guys and role players. If we follow the dream team path and add the best players regardless of ‘fit’, we dominate.
No, those players were chosen because they were the best available. The best players weren't available. And that's likely going to be the case going through the next cycle of international play before the Olympics. It'll be whomever is available.
And here's the thing you have to remember - besides the Olympics, Team USA don't really care for international competition like that. Getting the best players to buy-in to keep the same rotation through tourneys like the FIBA World Cup and friendlies won't happen. We're seeing an ever-increasing amount of injuries, and an ever-increasing amount of player protection and an ever-increasing amount of monetary player value. Meaning, prioritizing international play is going to be long down the list.
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Lost if those guys are/will be role players. AND they will still be pups in 2028. Intentional teams lean on experience. But yes France is legit.
didn’t realize Ella Mai gabe birth to the baby
