> Nothing to do with coaching or whether it’s a B or C team. These other countries have players that would die to be there, we have players that where chosen
https://x.com/rudygay/status/1700871536641732701?s=46&t=GxJVE__6HtIDqzRQ9MGgwA
He’s not completely wrong there
by nutelamitbutter
33 Comments
Well I agree with the second part but coaching is part of the issue
I agree. Its 100% a combination of coaching, chemistry, & determination(perhaps driven by nationalism and a sense of pride.)
The talent is undeniably there, B team or C team. We all know the NBA speed, athleticism, and talent trumps all other leagues. A team with filled with NBA should’ve won, but similar to Pop’s team last WC, US just falls short in every aspect except talent.
The Olympics is another story, wherein the starpower is just too great to overcome
Honestly sending more young stars like Ant who are fiery competitiors isn’t a bad strategy. It’s just that the US isn’t developing premier big men anymore
Rudy Gay and I don’t have much in common, but we are both bad at grammar 😎
What does that say about France and Spain, who didn’t even make it out of the group stage?
Sorry Rudy you make a good point but r/nba wants me to make fun of this roster and call JJJ a fake Defensive player of the Year.
This is 100% fax
The idea someone can come on here and say “sorry Rudy Gay but I disagree, I think i know a bit more about this than you.” Is just hilarious.
Well there was a star player available who publicly displayed his desire to be on the team many times over the course of multiple years… but unfortunately he’s balding so he wasn’t the right fit for Kerr.
Them having the same group (6-10 guys) grow up together and play for their NT yearly makes a big difference chemistry-wise.
Known perennial winner Rudy Gay
edit: RUDY GAY IS A BRITISH CIGARETTE
USA isn’t the best if they lose all the time. “Could’ve won” or “should’ve won” not the same as “won”.
When he says we is he referring to France?
The defence had an All Star feel to it at times. Like players didn’t want to get hurt so weren’t going all in. There’s no way that team should be giving up over 100 points.
It’s striking the difference between how Canadians and Americans respond to these sorts of things
Literally suffering from success, they don’t care because they believe it’s a given that they’re the best
He’s not wrong. Most of these other guys are playing like their lives depend on it.
>He’s not completely wrong there
He’s actually ENTIRELY right. 100%
or, Maybe 99%. Because the USA players were not chosen entirely, since no one can possibly make LeBron play for TEAM USA again if he doesn’t want to. The players were only chosen from a given pool of young players.
But it’s USA. So all those young players are ELITE NBA players, but played like Playoff Harden. No leadership or any experience in winning. That’s the difference. They all crumbled under pressure and had no genuine ALPHA to look up to. They all just tried to do their own thing separately like it’s the All Star game.
Too much “wannabe tough” tik tok energy, but not enough substance. They thought it’s still the 90s when no other countries could even compete against USA in Basketball. But it ain’t the 90s. Different breed of athletes and players from all over the world.
Austin Reaves was the best TEAM USA player in that elimination game against Germany. He had the energy. But that’s also the problem. Reaves wasn’t supposed to be the best player on TEAM USA
Anthony Edwards ain’t talking now, huh? All that podcast and interviews of him talking BIG shit, even though he’s literally a Rookie who won nothing in the NBA yet. And laid an egg with TEAM USA when it mattered the most as well.
“wE aRe noT wORRIeD AbOuT ThOSe gUys” lol Couldn’t even win Bronze in the end. Got slapped by Canada as well
The teams that the rest of the world put out, outplayed us. And good for them, as they deserved too. There were some bright spots to this roster but you can see that it wasn’t properly constructed and our size was exposed.
But in the end, there’s no need to be up in arms about it. Congratulations to Germany, Canada, Serbia, they have talent across all of these teams. Honestly I love seeing Canada be sending out a powerhouse team this year. Shai is easily one of my favorite players in the league.
You can’t tell me though that if we sent out a team with KD, Curry, Lebron, AD, etc that things wouldn’t be different. Lebron, AD and probably KD will never play another Olympics/WC though.
This is a lot of bs for a team that just needed two centers and Trae instead of some flavor of the month PGs.
Team USA didn’t play desperate enough. Weren’t a good enough defensive team.
This shit is getting tedious , the guys who went are young and hungry to win and win for USA . That’s what we all said cos they actually picked complimentary skill sets and guys who commmited to National Team, people now simping for trae but apparently he didn’t want to commit in his past from what I saw. I’ve never seen anyone care about fiba in 4 years of being an nba fan and now we’re acting like it’s a huge travesty lol. They lost cos they got outplayed… do I think they lose in bo7? Prob not but losing in bo1 in a sport like basketball now eith 3pt line is hardly remarkable. Canada shot like 8 more threes in 12% higher and even then game went to ot and Germany game barely lost. I do think Ant chucked a bit too much imo while people shit on JJJ , Ant proved he’s been a bit too hyped. He lacks the feel, iq, passing n playmaking to truly be a superstar atm. His hero balling worked for a while but he rarely sets up or helps the team offence . He’s talented but imo flawed : and some of the guys played poor other then him.
I think a few things are at play here:
– american basketball is far less based on the fundamentals and more based on entertainment value, while most other countries rely on the fundamentals way more
– when you’ve been the best for so long, you get cocky. Team USA felt untouchable and needed to brought back down to earth.
– this year’s team was, to put it bluntly, not the best constructed roster. The most legitimate star on here is Ant, and while sure, there is tons of talent on here – none of it particularly meshes well, it isn’t very cohesive and the roster is lacking in clear roles.
I’m a dual U.S./Irish citizen that’s also lived in Spain and South Korea. Americans are just not that patriotic when it comes to sports. And American patriotism is very shallow in any case, it’s more about virtue signaling than anything else.
>He’s not completely wrong
He’s 100% right
The argument against Trae being on is hilarious. Yall realize if he was swapped with any player we still wouldve gotten killed on boards and defense but Trae can get buckets and playmake better than anyone in the league. You think thats a negative asset just because hes undersized? Having guys like him and Ant who care and are motivated would have led to some amazing moments and incredible offense. But no his “fit” would be bad.
Its a lot but it starts with the rules that definitely force a completely different style of play that is by design meant to negate athleticism.
Coupled with the “heavy is the head the wears the crown” because EVERYONE and their mother are gunning for us and they now have the talent to legit compete and beat us.
Then I would say it comes down to the US having many mercenaries and our best mercenaries either don’t want to play of are just to worn down from the NBA season and need to rest.
While YES some teams have amassed great rosters it still would compare if we brought our actual best team
Yes for instance Branchero has been going on for years about how he was looking forward to play in the world cup for his national team, Italy.
seemed like the NBA guys thought there’d be a game 2, 3, 4, etc. or at least they certainly played like it. It’s a different game when you got one shot at it and execution is crucial on each play. In game coaching adjustments are huge in international play too, maybe not a great strength of this US coaching unit
Rudy Gay def knows about not playing with heart and not playing to your potential
Watch Team USA’s reaction to guys who aren’t Anthony Edwards hitting a big shot.
Haliburton throws a lob that Edwards misses, Kesler gets an incredible putback. Haliburton and the team go to hype up Edwards right after…?
Bridges makes a historic play to tie the game going into OT, Kesler is the only player on the entire fucking team to go hype him up. That is one of the greatest basketball shots of all time, and Team USA was quick to take a rest. If American’s had an eye for what was wrong with their team, this sub would be filled with posts detailing how obviously this team had Ant’s dick in their mouth and anyone else having a big game was ignored. Bridges could’ve scored 10 3’s in a row, they’re still going to draw up a play for Ant. That must be frustrating knowing the team doesn’t have your back unless you’re the dude with as many turnovers as assists.
It’s the different style of game and the way they train and learn the game and why some of the top players in the NBA aren’t American.
We are having a parade tomorrow in Riga for the Latvian team that got the fifth place. That’s paints the picture.
I can’t 100% agree. Maybe some lacked the motivation for to really be there or feel the urgency but I think it’s too far a stretch to simply say that all the players they choose simply don’t care at all. They clearly choose players who were young and honestly many of them are also known as hardworking tough guys on their respective teams. It may very well be the case that the players they choose were put into new positions/roles, some of which were new positions of leadership they were not used to or that they had a tough time adjusting to a new team and new environment on such short time. Also the coaching staff may have also not effectively used every one as well.