OK, so we lost to France — France! — in men’s hoops on Sunday at the Olympics, and there is dismay upon the land. I mean, this ain’t dressage; this is our game. What are we to do here in the land of (World B.) Free and (former) home of the (Buffalo) Braves?
Answers forthcoming, but maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised. I’ve always thought it was as simple as this: We exported the game, and as with other products, the rest of the world made it better. While stateside we have long been preoccupied with isolation plays and hero ball, the game as it was translated overseas — after our best and brightest taught it in clinics and camps dating back to the days immediately following World War II — centered on five-man patterns. The beautiful game, played on the hardwood instead of the soccer pitch.
In time that version of the sport made its way back to the states, as seen most notably in Steve Nash’s Suns, Steph Curry’s Warriors and even Gregg Popovich’s Spurs, when they demolished the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. And as that was happening a flood of foreign-born players arrived in the league; it has often been noted that the only first-team All-NBA player in the Tokyo Games is not on the U.S. team, but rather Slovenia’s — Luka Doncic, who this season became the third straight league MVP born outside the States. (The previous two went to Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, which did not qualify for the Games in hoops. Otherwise, things seem to be working out rather well lately for the Greek Freak, thank you very much.)
The talent gap has obviously closed considerably since the original Dream Team walked the Earth, crushing everything in its path. And as we’ve learned before — notably when the 2004 Olympians earned bronze in Athens — it is not enough to just roll out an all-star team of NBA players. There were recent hints of that when the U.S. finished seventh at the 2019 World Cup, and when they lost to NIgeria and Australia in pre-Olympic tune-ups earlier this month.
Roster construction matters. International experience matters. Philly.com columnist Mike Sielski recently argued that having the right coach also matters, and that Team USA could do better than Popovich. (Seeing as there have long been rumors that cuddly ol’ Pop was once a spy, I fear for Mike’s safety — though it’s also possible that Flyers fans will get to him first.)
Sielski lobbied for somebody like Villanova’s Jay Wright, though Wright — an assistant on the current team — once told him that NBA coaches are better-suited for the job. It’s certainly arguable, given Mike Krzyzewski’s success as national coach, not to mention Wright’s relatability and acumen.
The other factors contributing to the U.S.’s woes were smartly delineated by Tom Ziller, late of Bleacher Report, on his substack — and done so before the Games even began. Not only is the world catching up, he wrote, but this club has little international experience. Only the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Bucks’ Khris Middleton played on that ‘19 team at the World Cup, and beyond that only the Nets’ Kevin Durant and the Warriors’ Draymond Green have significant international experience.
Further, Ziller noted, there are too many scorers and not enough role players on the current club. Most notably, there are not enough big guys, and the U.S.’s lack of size, coupled with the fact that the international game is refereed differently — i.e., no superstar calls — will no doubt lead to other teams pounding away on our guys.
All of that is spot on. I can remember previous Games where stars like Carmelo Anthony and Jimmy Butler happily did the dirty work. Where executives like Jerry Colangelo cajoled high-profile players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James into giving up a summer or two in service to ‘Merica. Now, who holds the hammer? And who’s willing to give up touches?
If things turn out in Tokyo the way it looks like they’re going to turn out, drastic changes will certainly be in order. Ideas will be revisited, the team retooled and order (perhaps) restored. But understand this: Olympic basketball will never be what it was back in 1992, when players from the nations the Dream Team opposed asked to pose for pictures with Michael Jordan and Co. before their obligatory bludgeoning.
To paraphrase a long-ago Rick Pitino rant, Michael Jordan isn’t walking through that door. But you know who is? Luka Doncic and Patty Mills and (as was the case Sunday) Evan Fournier. We have our work cut out for us, and that has been the case for a while now. That’s appealing from a competitive standpoint — I mean, who wants to watch 50-point blowouts? — but troubling to the powers that be. It’s a matter of getting the right coach, the right roster and the right amount of international experience.
In other words, it’s fixable. Challenging, but fixable. It likely won’t happen in the course of these Games, but the solutions are within reach. The game we exported years ago looks very different now. We would do well to embrace that, and adapt.