jk31 wrote:what the hell? talentwise, team USA, even without top players, is still far superior to any other team. no other country has this deep of a talent pool to choose from. i don't get how you americans are always talking so badly about your team as soon as the currys and co are not playing. your #12 guy would still start be a starter at most of the other national teams. you just need to get your **** together and play like a team than nobody can stop team USA honestly.
In all these tournaments listed below, the USA was "clearly the most talented team by far".
I will use the 2000 Olympics as the starting point, because that was when the obvious US decline began, as compared to the level of the other teams.2000 - would have lost in the semis to Lithuania, if Ramunas Siskauskas didn't choke at the end of the game and miss 2 free throws. Also had 3 other close games against Lithuania and France (twice).
2002 - lost 3 straight games to Argentina, FR Yugoslavia, and Spain, and finished in 6th place, while playing at home no less.
2004 - lost to Italy in the prep stage, and lost to Puerto Rico, Lithuania, and Argentina (that made 2 straight losses to Argentina) in the main tournament. Also had close games that they could have lost against Greece, Australia, and Spain. Finished in 3rd place
2006 - had a close game against Italy, and lost in the semis to Greece and finished in 3rd place.
2008 - in the final, Spain was within 4 points, with 2 minutes left in the game.
2010 - the game against Brazil went down to the last shot. Also had a close game against Russia.
2012 - had a close game against Argentina in the prep stage. Also had two close games against Lithuania and Spain in the main tournament.
2014 - the only year they didn't lose games, almost lose games, or have very close games.
2016 - had 4 close games against Australia, Serbia, France, and Spain.
2019 - in the prep, had a close game against Spain and lost to Australia. In the tournament, beat Turkey by 1 point in overtime, and Turkey lost because they choked free throws at the end. Ended the tournament by losing 2 games to France and Serbia and finished in 7th place.
2021 - lost 2 games in the prep stage to Nigeria and Australia (made 2 straight losses against Australia), and also had a close game against Spain. In the main tournament, lost to France in the group stage, and then had a close game against France in the final.
2021 Olympics USA Team's results:Game 1: Lost 90-87 to Nigeria (0-1)
Game 2: Lost 91-83 to Australia (0-2)
Game 3: Won 108-80 Against Argentina (1-2)
Game 4: Won 83-76 Against Spain (2-2)
Game 5: Lost 83-76 against France (2-3)
Game 6: Won 120-66 against Iran (3-3)
Game 7: Won 119-84 against Czech Republic (4-3)
Game 8: Won 95-81 Against Spain (5-3)
Game 9: Won 97-78 against Australia (6-3)
Game 10: Won 87-82 against France (7-3)
And in the gold medal game, Fournier had a wide open 3 pointer at the end of the game that would have tied it at 85, but he choked and missed it. That's how close the gold medal game was, one missed wide open 3 pointer at the end decided it.
USA didn't get the gold in the 2002 World Cup, the 2004 Olympics, the 2006 World Cup, and the 2019 World Cup. And if Ramunas Siskauskas makes 2 free throws, and Evan Fournier hits a wide open 3 pointer, they very likely might not have gotten the gold at the 2000 Olympics and the 2021 Olympics either.
Even the 2008 Dream Team was reeling and collapsing at the end of the gold medal game against Spain, before Kobe's 4 point play saved it for them. The only Team USA of this century that was in the major tournaments (World Cup/Olympics), that didn't have any losses or near losses, was the 2014 USA Team. That's it. The other 10 USA teams all had losses (several of them multiple losses), or near losses. 2014 was the only time they were clearly superior to all of the other teams. The only time in this century.
The so far announced 2023 USA roster is weaker than every single previous above USA roster, except for the 2019 roster, and that's debatable.
