I still remember sitting in my living room in September 2019, watching Team USA's opening game against the Czech Republic with growing unease. As someone who's followed international basketball for over two decades, I could sense something was different about this American squad right from tip-off. The team that had dominated global basketball for what felt like forever was showing cracks, and frankly, I wasn't surprised given who wasn't on that roster. What unfolded over the next two weeks would become one of the most fascinating chapters in modern basketball history - a story of vulnerability, adjustment, and ultimately, reality check for the basketball superpower.
Let me be clear from the start - I've always believed that sending anything less than our absolute best players to international competitions does a disservice to both the sport and our basketball legacy. The 2019 squad featured only three players with prior USA Basketball senior team experience - Harrison Barnes, Kemba Walker, and Khris Middleton. Compare that to the 2014 championship team that had Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, or the 2010 squad featuring Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. The talent drop-off was noticeable to anyone who follows the NBA closely. We're talking about replacing perennial All-Stars with good-but-not-great NBA players, and in international basketball, that gap matters more than people realize.
The tournament started with what should have been comfortable wins against Czech Republic (88-67) and Turkey (93-92 in overtime), but that Turkey game nearly became an embarrassing early loss. I remember clutching my head when Turkey's Cedi Osman missed two free throws that would have essentially sealed their victory in regulation. The Americans escaped by the skin of their teeth, and at that moment, I turned to my friend and said, "This team isn't winning gold." There was no cohesion, no clear offensive identity, and most concerningly, none of that trademark USA Basketball swagger that we'd grown accustomed to seeing.
When we lost to France 89-79 in the quarterfinals, it marked Team USA's first defeat in international competition since 2006 - ending a 58-game winning streak that spanned nearly thirteen years. The numbers tell a sobering story: we shot just 35% from three-point range throughout the tournament, compared to 40% from our opponents. We were outrebounded in critical moments and seemed to have no answer for opposing big men like Rudy Gobert, who dominated the paint with 21 points and 16 rebounds in that fateful France game. What struck me most was how predictable our offense became in crunch time - too much isolation basketball, not enough of the ball movement that characterizes modern championship teams.
This brings me to that fascinating quote from the 25-time PBA champion coach about his commitment to Gilas Pilipinas despite criticism. While he was talking about the Philippine national team, his words resonate with the broader challenge facing USA Basketball. "I have no plans to slow down in fulfilling my role... and do the best I can to make the team competitive." That's exactly the mentality we need from everyone involved with USA Basketball - from coaches to players to administrators. The rest of the world isn't just catching up; in many ways, they've developed systems and player development pipelines that rival or exceed ours for international play. The days when we could throw together a team of NBA players and expect automatic gold are over, and frankly, that's good for basketball globally, even if it stings our national pride.
The seventh-place finish - our worst ever in a major international tournament - should serve as a wake-up call rather than a catastrophe. I've spoken with several NBA executives since 2019 who privately acknowledge that the program needed this reality check. What impressed me was how Coach Gregg Popovich handled the entire situation with grace and perspective, consistently emphasizing that these losses would make the program stronger in the long run. He understood what many fans didn't - that international basketball has evolved into a different game requiring different strategies and roster constructions than the NBA regular season.
Looking back, I believe the 2019 experience ultimately strengthened USA Basketball's approach to future competitions. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics roster featured significantly more star power and commitment, resulting in the gold medal that restored order to the basketball universe. But the lessons from China remain relevant today: we cannot take our dominance for granted, we must respect every opponent, and most importantly, we need our best players to actually show up. The 2019 World Cup wasn't the disaster many painted it to be - it was the necessary correction that reminded us why continuous improvement matters, even for basketball's reigning superpower. Sometimes you need to stumble to remember how to run properly, and Team USA's 2019 journey gave us exactly that - a stumble that may well have saved our future in international basketball.