Old Going For Gold: USA Men's Olympic Basketball - Next Up The Main Event vs France (8/10 @ 3:30pm ET)

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

It’s time to bring the 3 year commitment back

Not going to happen, my g.

Players worth too much money now that they'll protect no.1. Getting players to make that level of commitment to something which won't benefit them is going to be a tall task. Sheeeit, Grant Hill saw the writing on the wall when he took over -

With players paying more attention to load management and offseason recovery, the previous demands are a harder sell. Additionally, there has been a change to the international basketball schedule and the World Cup and Olympics are now played in back-to-back summers, making the time investment for the national team more demanding in a shorter window.

"You have to adapt to the times," Hills said. "If you looked at the NBA, it has changed tremendously. It's changed since I retired in 2013. Every generation's different and it's important for us as leadership, particularly USA Basketball, to recognize that and be willing to adapt with that change."

Can you imagine getting someone like Zion to make a three-year commitment, when he can't even commit to a three-week diet?

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

Not going to happen, my g.

Players worth too much money now that they'll protect no.1. Getting players to make that level of commitment to something which won't benefit them is going to be a tall task. Sheeeit, Grant Hill saw the writing on the wall when he took over -

With players paying more attention to load management and offseason recovery, the previous demands are a harder sell. Additionally, there has been a change to the international basketball schedule and the World Cup and Olympics are now played in back-to-back summers, making the time investment for the national team more demanding in a shorter window.

"You have to adapt to the times," Hills said. "If you looked at the NBA, it has changed tremendously. It's changed since I retired in 2013. Every generation's different and it's important for us as leadership, particularly USA Basketball, to recognize that and be willing to adapt with that change."

Can you imagine getting someone like Zion to make a three-year commitment, when he can't even commit to a three-week diet?

The players won't do it for 2028.....and they'll (probably) lose just like 2004.

I think it'll take France, Serbia etc., embarrassing them on home turf to get the message.


Bron's generation learned the hard way after Greece but these Gen Z'ers are too young to remember that. They think it'll be easy but I don't see a KD/Curry/Bron type group for the Americans. They need the Coach K setup now. Lots of good players but they're not strong enough to carry weak coaching. They need a "system" for the next generation.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Mm not really. Injuries yes. But talent infusion? Not really. Look at this roster. Haliburton is the only surprise from 4 years ago. Everyone else, 4 years ago you would have envisioned they’d be here.

This actually goes against your argument.

Four years ago, sure, possibly we had a good idea of who'd be here for the 2024 Olympics, if only in theory that Bron, Steph and KD would still be at a point of their careers where they'd be healthy and willing to play. But what about in 2028? Who are we going to rely on? 70-80% of this current squad won't be there in four years time. Who are the next group of players knocking down the door to anchor the team?

Five players (KD, Bam, Booker, Jrue and Tatum) remained from the 2020 Olympics on this year's run, with the addition of two top-10 players of all time in Bron and Steph. There's not going to be the same level of foundation in 2028, let alone the same quality of players. It's going to be a new crop of players, largely untested on the international level and who have to compete with players on the same standing as them.

So there are no international stars coming that we don’t already know about

You can't possibly know this.

Did you envision four years ago that Jokic would become a 3x MVP and the best player in the world? Did you know he'd turn into the player he would after being drafted in the second round?

Do you know how good the international players will be in this year's draft? Do you know how good all the current international players will be in four years time?

We simply do not know.

Therefore, we can't make any definitive projections about the concentrated level of talent that other countries will have at the next Olympics. It is a mystery to you and I both. There is, however, one thing we can be certain of, and that because there's more international players in the NBA than ever before that exposure will aid them in shrinking the talent and ability margin that American-based players had almost entirely in their favor for past Olympics'.

Unless, of course, you believe all the international players between now and 2028 either won't improve or they're just in the NBA to make up the numbers.

Yes, and again, we don’t play ‘the world’. We play individual countries. Even with the world ‘catching up’, it is unlikely these teams have multiple stars. Hell you can argue no team has surpassed the cumulative talent level of Spain with the Gasol brothers and that was 20 years who

Again - you can't possibly know this. Especially since, as I need to reiterate, there's more international players than ever before getting more exposure in the NBA than ever before.

If someone had told you back in 2018 that no American-born player would win MVP for the next 5+ years, what would be your response?

You would've laughed them off the stage.

The margin of talent we have on other countries is getting smaller and smaller by the year, whether you want to admit it or not. The amount of international players in the NBA will keep increasing and increasing, until it essentially does become a 'world competition'.

Grading on a curve. Imagine saying ‘Team USA we got the #6, #7, #11 pick’ 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.

I'm not grading those players, I'm specifiying that they are lottery picks, and any number of them could become stars. When was the last time a country other than us had that many lottery picks, especially one that is generational, all on the same timeline? There hasn't been a time when that has happened. It's marking the changing of the times. Just as if all the international players who're not as widely-regarded drafted outside of the lottery, who could become stars too.

You say international teams lean on experience, what experience will Team USA have in 2028? Tatum? Haliburton? Ant?

Wemby will be 24 (with four more years of NBA experience) and all those other aforementioned French players will be in their mid-20s, with the same amount of NBA experience, so I wouldn't exactly be calling them pups. That's not mentioning the likes of Gobert, Ntilikina, Yabusele etc as the vets.

Olympics is the only tourney that matters. And we got Ant Man. He’s gonna be a HUGE piece to this bc of his personality he’s a connector. After experiencing this? Yea he’s playing and he’s getting everyone to play too. Don’t forget this will be in LA home soil

Ant is a dope ass player, but there's levels to this shyt.

We saw how good he was during the pool play, and we saw how good he is when he's hot, but we also saw when his jumper wasn't falling that he crumbled during the knockout games, and played himself off the floor. He couldn't even contribute in other meaningful ways because he ended up losing his bearings. The young buck is only 23, so he should be better for the experience, but he's got a long, long road ahead of him if he ever hopes to be on the same level as Bron, KD or Steph.

You gotta remember that KD at the same age Ant is now, anchored this team to gold every single step of the way back in 2012. Ant could just as easily not become that player that many project him to be, which Team USA could end up being in need of in 2028.

 

[SchoolboyC]

Yes.

Really.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My thing is, the U.S. has a significantly higher proven track record of creating stars than any other country.

Like regarding France, you mention the potential of some of their young players but the U.S. is right there with it. Bilal Coulibaly had a solid rookie year, but Brandon Miller plays his same position and was in the same draft class and I 100% agree that a lot can change in four years, but right now Miller is a way better player than Coulibaly. Who's to say that the gap won't remain the same or get bigger over the next 4 years?

GG Jackson is the same age as Risacher and Sarr, was the #1 HS player in America before he reclassified and just had a fantastic rookie year. Why is his ability to blossom into a star over the next 4 years dismissed?

Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren got drafted right with Ousmane Dieng in OKC and they're the 2nd/3rd best players on the team while Dieng is entering year 3 and still hasn't managed to even crack the rotation.

Like I said in the Noah Lyles thread, I just find it bizarre how right now in basketball discourse it feels like there's so much more optimism around the progression of other country's talent over the next four years instead of the one who actually has built up a legitimate track record of creating stars over the course of decades. Speaking generally of course, not saying you agree or disagree with anything I said above.

I do agree that the next four years will be a bit of a transitional period for U.S. basketball with the late 2000s/early 2010s draftees starting to fade out, but if no other country has earned the benefit of the doubt, is it not the U.S.?

 

[CHICAGO]

My thing is, the U.S. has a significantly higher proven track record of creating stars than any other country.

Like regarding France, you mention the potential of some of their young players but the U.S. is right there with it. Bilal Coulibaly had a solid rookie year, but Brandon Miller plays his same position and was in the same draft class and I 100% agree that a lot can change in four years, but right now Miller is a way better player than Coulibaly. Who's to say that the gap won't remain the same or get bigger over the next 4 years?

GG Jackson is the same age as Risacher and Sarr, was the #1 HS player in America before he reclassified and just had a fantastic rookie year. Why is his ability to blossom into a star over the next 4 years dismissed?

Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren got drafted right with Ousmane Dieng in OKC and they're the 2nd/3rd best players on the team while Dieng is entering year 3 and still hasn't managed to even crack the rotation.

Like I said in the Noah Lyles thread, I just find it bizarre how right now in basketball discourse it feels like there's so much more optimism around the progression of other country's talent over the next four years instead of the one who actually has built up a legitimate track record of creating stars over the course of decades. Speaking generally of course, not saying you agree or disagree with anything I said above.

ITS MORE DUE TO THE FACT
THE NEXT GENERATIONAL STARS
ARE USUALLY DOING THEIR THING
BY THE TIME THREE GENERATIONAL
TALENTS TURN 36 AND 39 YRS OLD.

EVEN THE GUYS ON THE DREAM TEAM
WERENT THIS OLD.

WEVE ALWAYS SEEN THE MANTLE
PASSED DOWN AND WE KNEW
WHO THE NEXT CROP OF KILLERS WERE.
NOW WE'RE HOPING
SOMEONE DEVELOPS IN 4 YRS
WHEN THEY SHOULD
ALREADY BE HERE.

ANT IS THE ONLY ONE
WHO HAS SHOWN POTENTIAL
TO BECOME ONE OF THOSE GUYS.





​

 

[jerniebert]

Locking up the gold in LA!

 

[Braman]

This actually goes against your argument. Four years ago, sure, possibly we had a good idea of who'd be here for the 2024 Olympics, if only in theory that Bron, Steph and KD would still be at a point of their careers where they'd be healthy and willing to play. But what about in 2028? Who are we going to rely on?

Glad you asked! I can again plug my 2028 roster:

Ja Morant
Ant
Tatum
Banchero
Bam

LaMelo
Maxey
Halliburton
Chet Holmgreen
Zion
Booker
Donovan Clingan

Just out: Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes,Jalen Green, Donovan Mitchell, JJJ, Jaylen Williams

I see our core superstars as Ja, Ant, Paolo, Chet, and Zion. And this roster is better than anything anyone else can come up with including France. And we still got 7,8 guys who could play. This doesn’t even include AD who by then could still be a an elite rim protector. The only reason you and others think we’ll be in trouble is bc we’ve conditioned ourselves to NOT just pick the best players. We purposely pick role players and ‘fit’ which dumbs us down.

You can't possibly know this.

Did you envision four years ago that Jokic would become a 3x MVP and the best player in the world? Did you know he'd turn into the player he would after being drafted in the second round?

Jokic was an all star in 2018, then 4th in MVP voting in 2019 and first team nba.

Do you know how good the international players will be in this year's draft? Do you know how good all the current international players will be in four years time?

We simply do not know.

Dont matter bc they’ll be 23. Dudes like Ant are an anomaly. And I’m pretty sure I just said this: European teams are even more conservative with age than we are. A group of 23 year olds aren’t beating Team USA. 2032 is when you’ll see them fully fleshed out.

 

[tremonthustler1]

It’s time to bring the 3 year commitment back

it never really went anywhere.

the irony is that everyone's criticizing the women's team for not deviating from a structure that has worked for 8 straight olympics because they didn't wanna create a team on the fly.

 

[SchoolboyC]

ITS MORE DUE TO THE FACT
THE NEXT GENERATIONAL STARS
ARE USUALLY DOING THEIR THING
BY THE TIME THREE GENERATIONAL
TALENTS TURN 36 AND 39 YRS OLD.

EVEN THE GUYS ON THE DREAM TEAM
WERENT THIS OLD.

WEVE ALWAYS SEEN THE MANTLE
PASSED DOWN AND WE KNEW
WHO THE NEXT CROP OF KILLERS WERE.
NOW WE'RE HOPING
SOMEONE DEVELOPS IN 4 YRS
WHEN THEY SHOULD
ALREADY BE HERE.

ANT IS THE ONLY ONE
WHO HAS SHOWN POTENTIAL
TO BECOME ONE OF THOSE GUYS.





​

And that's fine, I get that viewpoint. Guys like Ja, Zion, to a lesser extent Tatum that we thought would be next up haven't proven to be, and are all lacking in some form or fashion. And even with the Dream Team, Magic & Bird as the elder statesmen were just accessory pieces, the younger stars weren't deferring to them to lead the way, I get all that.

But again I ask, if any country has earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt in terms of developing stars is it not the U.S.?

 

[tremonthustler1]

My thing is, the U.S. has a significantly higher proven track record of creating stars than any other country.

Like regarding France, you mention the potential of some of their young players but the U.S. is right there with it. Bilal Coulibaly had a solid rookie year, but Brandon Miller plays his same position and was in the same draft class and I 100% agree that a lot can change in four years, but right now Miller is a way better player than Coulibaly. Who's to say that the gap won't remain the same or get bigger over the next 4 years?

GG Jackson is the same age as Risacher and Sarr, was the #1 HS player in America before he reclassified and just had a fantastic rookie year. Why is his ability to blossom into a star over the next 4 years dismissed?

Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren got drafted right with Ousmane Dieng in OKC and they're the 2nd/3rd best players on the team while Dieng is entering year 3 and still hasn't managed to even crack the rotation.

Like I said in the Noah Lyles thread, I just find it bizarre how right now in basketball discourse it feels like there's so much more optimism around the progression of other country's talent over the next four years instead of the one who actually has built up a legitimate track record of creating stars over the course of decades. Speaking generally of course, not saying you agree or disagree with anything I said above.

I do agree that the next four years will be a bit of a transitional period for U.S. basketball with the late 2000s/early 2010s draftees starting to fade out, but if no other country has earned the benefit of the doubt, is it not the U.S.?

Structure.


Coulibaly will be at EuroBasket every summer, playing FIBA World Cup, in on the qualifying tournaments. Short of a full time commitment, the GG's and Millers aren't likely to do that. They'll be in and out of the selection pool while Coulibaly is essentially playing on another team. The Euro squads treat their national teams almost on the same level as their main employer.


The only scary thing is that countries like France have a deeper pool of talent to choose from than before. The US still has by far the deepest pool, but at times they can be flaky on committing.

 

[SchoolboyC]

Structure.


Coulibaly will be at EuroBasket every summer, playing FIBA World Cup, in on the qualifying tournaments. Short of a full time commitment, the GG's and Millers aren't likely to do that. They'll be in and out of the selection pool while Coulibaly is essentially playing on another team. The Euro squads treat their national teams almost on the same level as their main employer.


The only scary thing is that countries like France have a deeper pool of talent to choose from than before. The US still has by far the deepest pool, but at times they can be flaky on committing.

That's been the case for years now, we know that continuity and chemistry is the biggest advantage other teams have over Team USA.

To me the biggest roadblock for Team USA is going forward is the same as it is now, getting guys to commit to it rather than being able to find an heir to LeBron or KD

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

My thing is, the U.S. has a significantly higher proven track record of creating stars than any other country.

They have. You're not wrong about that.

But you wanna know why that is? Because American-born players have had monopoly of the NBA.

The NBA is responsible for creating those stars, that no other league in the world can possibly contend with. There's a reason why the winner of the competition has become synonymous with world champions. Word to Noah Lyles.

As I've laid mention in that post you quoted, American-born players having that strangehold on the NBA is becoming less and less a thing.

The track record now stands that every MVP since 2018 has been born outside of this country. And with SGA and Luka being the main candidates this season, that trend is likely to continue. Hell, if Spurs can fast-track a contender with Wemby over the next couple of years, there's the likeilihood that we could just as easily go an entire decade with foreigners winning the MVP.

Like regarding France, you mention the potential of some of their young players but the U.S. is right there with it. Bilal Coulibaly had a solid rookie year, but Brandon Miller plays his same position and was in the same draft class and I 100% agree that a lot can change in four years, but right now Miller is a way better player than Coulibaly. Who's to say that the gap won't remain the same or get bigger over the next 4 years?

GG Jackson is the same age as Risacher and Sarr, was the #1 HS player in America before he reclassified and just had a fantastic rookie year. Why is his ability to blossom into a star over the next 4 years dismissed?

The point I'm making by refrencing those players is, they're all going to be in the same league, developing at the same time, gaining experience and battling against the same players. I'm not dismissing the likes of GG developing into a star, I'm dismissing the advantage he has to become a star because he'll develop under the exact same conditions as the international players.

That's the advantage our players once upon a time had over the rest of the world.

If Jokic stayed in Serbia, he wouldn't have become the player he is now. He's only this generational player because the NBA molded him into one.

Think of the NBA has the ultimate water stone, or whetstone (which are used to sharpen tools), now those tools are only going to get as sharp as they possibly can with the stone of the NBA. Now, it's only been just been in recent years that international players have been able to sharpen their shyt with that stone, after spending so long as tools being sharpened on a random ass pebble from some random ass river.

Like I said in the Noah Lyles thread, I just find it bizarre how right now in basketball discourse it feels like there's so much more optimism around the progression of other country's talent over the next four years instead of the one who actually has built up a legitimate track record of creating stars over the course of decades. Speaking generally of course, not saying you agree or disagree with anything I said above.

I do agree that the next four years will be a bit of a transitional period for U.S. basketball with the late 2000s/early 2010s draftees starting to fade out, but if no other country has earned the benefit of the doubt, is it not the U.S.?

It's definitely not bizarre.

The best players in the world right now are largely comprised from other countries. It's hard to be optimistic about the progression of our country when we just literally needed some old ass nxggas to carry us to gold, with no definitive superstar to take over in sight. Essentially, we're at ground zero with every other nation, and it's going to be a race to 2028.

We can't exactly get on the phone to Captain America like some Marvel film and ask him to save us in the next Olympics either.

 

[SchoolboyC]

They have. You're not wrong about that.

But you wanna know why that is? Because American-born players have had monopoly of the NBA.

The NBA is responsible for creating those stars, that no other league in the world can possibly contend with. There's a reason why the winner of the competition has become synonymous with world champions. Word to Noah Lyles.

As I've laid mention in that post you quoted, American-born players having that strangehold on the NBA is becoming less and less a thing.

The track record now stands that every MVP since 2018 has been born outside of this country. And with SGA and Luka being the main candidates this season, that trend is likely to continue. Hell, if Spurs can fast-track a contender with Wemby over the next couple of years, there's the likeilihood that we could just as easily go an entire decade with foreigners winning the MVP.

The point I'm making by refrencing those players is, they're all going to be in the same league, developing at the same time, gaining experience and battling against the same players. I'm not dismissing the likes of GG developing into a star, I'm dismissing the advantage he has to become a star because he'll develop under the exact same conditions as the international players.

That's the advantage our players once upon a time had over the rest of the world.

If Jokic stayed in Serbia, he wouldn't have become the player he is now. He's only this generational player because the NBA molded him into one.

Think of the NBA has the ultimate water stone, or whetstone (which are used to sharpen tools), now those tools are only going to get as sharp as they possibly can with with the stone of the NBA. Now, it's only been just recently that international players have been able to sharpen their shyt with that stone, after spending so long as tools being sharpened on a random ass pebble from some random ass river.

It's definitely not bizarre.

The best players in the world right now are largely comprised from other countries. It's hard to be optimistic about the progression of our country when we just literally needed some old ass nxggas to carry us to gold, with no definitive superstar to take over in sight. Essentially, we're at ground zero with every other nation, and it's going to be a race to 2028.

We can't exactly get on the phone to Captain America like some Marvel film and ask him to save us in the next Olympics either.

What advantages are Coulibaly, Dieng, Sarr, etc, gonna have that Batum, Fournier, Boris Diaw, etc. didn’t have? At the end of the day you still have to develop. Wemby looks to be a monster but the rest of those French players are unknowns who haven’t proven a thing. My point in bringing up guys like Brandon Miller, GG, Chet is that we have similar American players in those age groups that are already far ahead of them as players and it’s not unrealistic at all that it could continue over the next 4 years

The top 5 players born outside of the U.S. right now are absolutely better than the top 5 in. Problem is A) They’re all spread out in different countries, B) They don’t have the requisite supporting cast in their countries, C) Once you expand outside that top 5 the gap gets closed and then surpassed rather quickly

We’ve got 4 years to see how it shakes out. I’m confident that the U.S. will be fine. Like I said in one of my previous comments, my biggest concern will continue to be player commitment rather than not having the talent at all

 

[Mister Terrific]

The best players in the world right now are largely comprised from other countries.

No they aren’t. The Celtics were 95% American. 23 of the 2024 all star sections were American. 10 of the all NBA selections were American. 47 of the 58 draft picks in the 2023 draft were American. 2024 38 of the 58 were American. 16 of the 20 ppg leaders were American.



“Other countries” isn’t a team BTW. When we play France we aren’t playing Luka or Jokic we are playing France and their sorry ass guards who can barely run an offense. When we play Serbia we aren’t playing Giannis we are playing a team that can barely function without Jokic on the floor. When we’re are playing Slovenia we aren’t playing Wemby we are playing a bunch of cab drivers being carried by Luka.

The U.S. is the deepest country in talent and has the most top end talent of any country and the next class with inevitably have its future superstars.

It's hard to be optimistic about the progression of our country when we just literally needed some old ass nxggas to carry us to gold,

They won by an average of 19 points. We literally won every game in the U-17 World Cup by an average of 50 points



But please go ahead and list Greece, Spain, France, Slovenia, and Serbia’s starting 5 for 2028 that you are so afraid of.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

What advantages are Coulibaly, Dieng, Sarr, etc, gonna have that Batum, Fournier, Boris Diaw, etc. didn’t have? At the end of the day you still have to develop.

A greater foundational base for starters, one that is more similar to growing up in this country. With the globalization of the sport, more and more resources are getting pushed into developing these players from a younger age all over the world. It's been typical of international players to play more of a niche role (one that is accustomed to the country's leagues they grew up in), which ran parallel to them being drafted one year and then not playing in the NBA until a couple years later. At that point, a certain amount of that development was already set in stone when they came into the league.

Now, franchises are actively looking to make those players the centerpiece of their teams, and they're doing it ASAP.

The logic of that doesn't really hold up when we've seen Luka, Giannis, Jokic (and to a lesser degree SGA) etc come into the league and buck the trend of what we've come to know about foreign talent. That if they're given the same platform to develop into superstars, they can develop into them. The likes of Diaw came into the league recognized as a role player and he stayed that way. Franchises have seen how great international players can be, and they're looking for the next superstar. It's no coincidence that nearly half of this year's lottery picks are international players.

Besides, if Coulibaly, Sarr, Dieng etc can develop into what Batum and Diaw ended up being, then France is going to be a monster.

My point in bringing up guys like Brandon Miller, GG, Chet is that we have similar American players in those age groups that are already far ahead of them as players and it’s not unrealistic at all that it could continue over the next 4 years

But are Miller, GG or Chet going to move the needle?

Remove Bron, Steph and KD from this year's Olympics squad, and Team USA still have players that are far better, in isolation, than the rest of the other nations. But that doesn't mean much if those players are greater, individually, but not transcendent enough, to where it would be enough to counter teams who have more chemistry as a unit, and who have higher commmitt to their nation's team

I mean, we literally needed all of Bron, Steph and KD to win. They were at the center of every run we had against Serbia and France. Would Tatum, Booker, Jrue etc have stepped up into those types of roles and carried us to gold, even despite being better players than what France and Serbia had? I have my doubts.

Say the next Olympics rolls around, and France have gone through a 1-2 year cycle with the same rotation in preperation for it, and yet Team USA have just brought a team together for the first time for the exhibitions, and they have a whole host of players who're individually better than the players on France, but they're just you're standard type of star, they're not your KD-level of star, do you think that's simply going to be enough?

Ant's better than 99.999999% of the rest of the players at the Olympics, but when it was time to get down to business in the knockout stages, he shyt the bed. Largely because he isn't ready for that role, and because he hasn't had any international exposure. That's what we're going to need to count on in time for the next Olympics, that despite having more talent than every other nation, are they going to be good enough to step up when needed?

The top 5 players born outside of the U.S. right now are absolutely better than the top 5 in. Problem is A) They’re all spread out in different countries, B) They don’t have the requisite supporting cast in their countries, C) Once you expand outside that top 5 the gap gets closed and then surpassed rather quickly

You wouldn't have said that four years ago, would you?



Which is my point.

Four years from now, that trend is going to continue, if not in that direct respect with more superstars, but a trend where there'll be more international players on the level of Chet, GG, Miller etc. There doesn't really need to be a whole host of countries with the same level of depth as us, there just needs to be one.

Are we going to have a Bron or KD level player to carry us next time, when other countries have a Luka, or Jokic or Wemby? When was the last time in the Olympics where we didn't have a generational superstar anchoring the team?

We’ve got 4 years to see how it shakes out. I’m confident that the U.S. will be fine. Like I said in one of my previous comments, my biggest concern will continue to be player commitment rather than not having the talent at all

I guess it's one and the same, at least to me.

This squad was brought to together last minute, with minimal player commitment from last year's FIBA World Cup, yet they still had enough of a talent advantage to where it didn't matter. That's why I keep emphasizing it's going to be different next time, because they won't be able to roll into the next Olympics thinking a talent advantage will be enough, because that margin will be about as small as it's been in the last 20+ years.