The basketball team that represents the United States is the USA Basketball Men’s National Team, also referred to as the United States Men’s National Team.
Image Via USA Basketball
The basketball team that represents the United States is the USA Basketball Men’s National Team, also referred to as the United States Men’s National Team. They have won medals in every one of their nineteen Olympic competitions, including sixteen golds, making them the most successful team in international competition. The squad won the Olympic gold medal during the professional period in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. The 1960 squad, which included six Hall of Famers (4 players, 2 coaches), and the 1992 “Dream Team,” which contained 14 Hall of Famers, were admitted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2010. (11 players, 3 coaches). Only Spain is ahead of the team at the moment in the FIBA World Rankings.
The United States, which has historically featured amateur players, dominated the early years of international basketball, setting a record by winning seven straight Olympic gold medals. The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia had more seasoned pros than American amateurs by the end of the 1980s, nevertheless.
In 1989, FIBA changed its regulations to permit USA Basketball to field teams that included players from the National Basketball Association. The first such team, dubbed the “Dream Team,” triumphed in every match to take home the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The squad was able to start a second run of supremacy in the 1990s with the addition of NBA stars.
The United States finished sixth at the 2002 FIBA World Championship despite facing tougher opposition and missing out on a medal. The country’s Olympic teams had lost more games in a single year than they had in all prior Olympiads combined when the 2004 team, which was thinned out by a number of withdrawals, dropped three games on its way to a bronze medal.
In an effort to end these flops, USA Basketball started a long-term endeavour to build stronger, more unified teams. At the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, the United States won its first seven games before falling to Greece in the semifinals and taking home the bronze medal. Two years later, in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the team dominated to win gold. This accomplishment was followed up at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where the United States won the gold medal by defeating the host country Turkey despite not fielding any members of the 2008 Olympic team on their roster.
The Americans continued this winning streak in the 2010s by winning gold at the FIBA World Cup in 2014 and the 2012 Summer Olympics while going unbeaten. Mike Krzyzewski became the most accomplished coach in USA Basketball history as his team won their 15th gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics under his record-breaking third-straight captaincy. Team USA fell to France in the 2019 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals after Krzyzewski retired in 2016, placing them sixth overall. Team USA would make up for this failure at the 2020 Summer Olympics, defeating France 87-82 in the championship to win the team’s 16th overall gold medal and its fourth in a row.
History:
Image Via SBNation.com
1936–1968
The US men dominated the first basketball competition at the Olympics, which took place in Berlin in 1936. They went 5-0 to take home the gold, and were joined on the medal stand by neighbours from across the continent, Canada and Mexico. The United States won gold while remaining unbeaten in the following six competitions, which were staged in London, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo, and Mexico City.
Although only amateurs were allowed to compete in these competitions, the US teams during this time included players who would later go on to become superstars in professional basketball, including all-time greats Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas; the latter three played on the 1960 Rome team, which was frequently cited as having the best American roster prior to the 1992 Dream Team’s formation.
Both Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, who were short NBA players, were selected to the 1948 Kentucky Wildcats team along with Hall of Famer Bob Kurland, a 3-time Oklahoma State All-American, a 6-time AAU All-American, and six more All-Americans. Big man Clyde Lovellette from the University of Kansas, who would go on to become an NBA legend, was a member of the 1952 squad. Kurland once more led the group to success. The San Francisco Dons teammates Bill Russell and K. C. Jones led the 1956 squad, which outscored its opponents by an unprecedented average of 53.5 points per game to win.
The 1960 team featured nine future NBA players, including four NBA Rookie of the Year winners in a row (Robertson in 1961, Lucas in 1964, Terry Dischinger in 1963, and Walt Bellamy in 1962), as well as Hall of Famer Jerry West, NBA All-Stars Darrall Imhoff in 1967, Bob Boozer in 1968, Adrian Smith in 1966, and Jay Arnette, who won the MVP of the NBA All-Star game. They outscored their opponents by 42.4 points on average per game.
1972-1988
The men’s basketball gold medal match from the 1972 Olympics is possibly the most contentious in Olympic history because it was the first time the US had ever lost in competition. The United States travelled to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics on the back of its seven straight gold medal victories and 63-0 Olympic record. The squad had a 6-0 lead over the Soviet Union in Olympic play after winning its first eight games with ease, setting up a matchup with them in the championship game.
After being hit hard by a Soviet player with three seconds remaining in the gold medal game, American forward Doug Collins made two free throws to give his team a 50-49 lead. Collins made two free throws, and the Soviets inbounded the ball but couldn’t convert. According to the Soviet coaches, a timeout was asked prior to Collins’ free throws. The officials commanded a three-second timeout and a review of the last few seconds of play. The Soviet player fired a length-of-the-court pass, but it missed its target, and the American players started celebrating as the horn sounded.
Yet a third time was added to the replay of the last three seconds. Alexander Belov of the Soviet Union and Kevin Joyce and Jim Forbes of the United States all stepped up for the pass this time, and Belov successfully caught Ivan Edeshko’s long pass close to the American basket. As the buzzer rang, Belov then put the ball in for the winning points. The US athletes unanimously decided to reject their silver medals, and at least one player—Kenny Davis—has specified in his will that his descendants are never allowed to collect the medals—even after his passing. It was then discovered that the Communist party may have offered bribes to game officials.
Following the contentious defeat in Munich, Dean Smith led the US to an unblemished 7-0 record and its seventh Olympic gold medal in Montreal. The USA’s overall Olympic record now stands at an amazing 78-1 thanks to their win at this competition. The 1980 Moscow Olympics were skipped by the United States and 66 other nations due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The 1980 U.S. squad was the youngest American national team ever put together, and it included several future NBA players. Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Sam Bowie, Michael Brooks, Bill Hanzlik, Alton Lister, Rodney McCray, Isiah Thomas, Darnell Valentine, Danny Vranes, Buck Williams, and Al Wood were members of this team. It took part in the “Gold Medal Set,” a series of games against NBA all-star teams in different American cities, instead of competing in the Olympics because of the boycott, and finished 5-1. Dave Gavitt served as the team’s coach.
The 1992 Dream Team’s Chris Mullin, Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan all made their Olympic debuts in 1984. With 17.1 points per game, Jordan was the team’s top scorer. Bob Knight led the team to an 8-0 record and another Olympic gold.
Future NBA all-stars David Robinson, Danny Manning, and Mitch Richmond were on the 1988 U.S. team’s roster of college students aged 20 to 23. The group came up short, taking home the bronze. The American team lost to the Soviet Union, who won the gold medal, in the semifinals, but recovered to defeat Australia 78-49 in the bronze medal match. Dan Majerle averaged 14.1 points per game, placing him first on the squad in scoring. This was the final time amateur college athletes made up the American Olympic Team.
1992-2000
The 1990 FIBA World Championship semifinal loss to Yugoslavia was followed by a second semifinal loss to Puerto Rico in the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana to kick off the decade. The 1990 championship marked the final occasion that college athletes from the United States competed in a significant international competition (World Championship & Olympics).
The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and other international teams’ decades-long employment of “shamateurs” forced FIBA to change its regulations and permit NBA players in the 1992 Olympics and beyond. One of the most prestigious skill lineups in the annals of international sport was put together by USA Basketball for the 1992 tournament in Barcelona. The 50 Finest Players in NBA History, the NBA’s official list of the 50 greatest players of the league’s first 50 years, included ten of the team’s twelve players in 1996. Co-captains were Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Due to the team’s all-star lineup, opponents frequently approached the Americans before games to get pregame pictures and autographs. Chuck Daly, the head coach of the USA team, did not use a single timeout during the competition since his squad was so superior to the opposition. The closest team to challenging the United States was Croatia, which was defeated by 32. The 1992 Dream Squad won by an average of 43.8 points (second most, behind the 1956 US team). When playing for the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the first athletes to win the NBA title and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.
According to Craig Miller, a representative for USA Basketball, about the athletes’ drug testing “All of our teams have been put to the test in competitions since 1990. We have allegedly been tested outside of competition since roughly 1988. We have always complied fully with WADA and USADA regulations.”
Because of how shockingly close the semifinal game was, NBC decided to broadcast the gold medal game live rather than on tape delay. On Sunday, October 1, Sydney time, which is late Saturday night in the USA, the game began at roughly 2:00 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to air on NBC during its Sunday prime time broadcast, approximately 24 hours later.) In a close contest with France, the USA won the gold medal 85-75. Despite winning the gold medal without losing a game, the US team for the first time started to lose its aura of invincibility.
2002-2004
At the World Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, the 2002 team represented the United States. George Karl was the team’s coach, and they came in sixth place, which was a fairly poor result. Argentina became the first team to ever defeat a USA team made up of NBA players when it upset the US during the tournament’s second preliminary round group stage. Yugoslavia defeated the USA team of NBA players in the quarterfinal round, becoming the first team to ever do it. Then, in the playoff for fifth place, Spain replicated the result. More so than in 2000, a number of prominent NBA players opted out, prompting USA Basketball to choose mainly second-tier players.
Due to their inability to deliver as past teams had, the group has been dubbed one of sports’ greatest failures. In the tournament, the United States suffered three defeats to nations led by NBA players (Manu Ginóbili for Argentina, Peja Stojakovi and Vlade Divac for Yugoslavia, and Vlade Divac for Spain) (led by Pau Gasol).
Ray Allen and Jason Kidd, two NBA legends who accepted positions on the World Championship team but were unable to participate because of injury. Several other A-list athletes, such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kevin Garnett, declined invites to take part in that competition.
Numerous NBA superstars agreed to join the Dream Team IV team for the FIBA Americas Championship 2003 as a result of the team’s need to compete in the tournament in order to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the team’s close 2000 and 2002 outcomes. The group easily won first place and qualified for the next summer’s competition in Athens, Greece.
The 2003 champion team, however, was unable to remain whole. Nine of the team’s twelve members decided not to compete in Athens. Some young NBA players at the beginning of their careers made up the new club, including Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. The 2003 FIBA Americas San Juan gold medal winning team was made up exclusively of Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson. Coaching the group was Larry Brown.
The team lost to Argentina 89-81 in the semifinal game, breaking the Americans’ grasp on the gold title. The USA did recover and beat Lithuania to win the bronze medal. Even still, it was the first time an American team made up of NBA players failed to take home the gold (excluding the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics).
2006-2016
In response to the failures in 2002 and 2004, USA Basketball named Jerry Colangelo as the team’s sole selector. For the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2008 Summer Olympics, Colangelo made it plain that he would require players to sign a three-year contract. Greece defeated the squad 101-95 to send them home from the 2006 World Championships. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University served as the head coach, and Jim Boeheim, Mike D’Antoni, and Nate McMillan served as his assistants.
Superstars Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James openly declared their commitment to the squad for the 2006 Worlds and the following 2008 Olympics, although several notable players, including as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, claimed that they did not plan to play for the team. The 2006 USA World Championship Team’s captains are Wade, James, and Carmelo Anthony.
After going 5-0 in the group stage of the competition, the squad proceeded to the knockout round. They had a 9-0 winning record in the competition and won by an average score of 33.0 points. Only three nations have won the World Cup twice, and that was the United States. They also became the first nation in FIBA basketball history to win four straight major titles when you combine their 2010 World Championship victory with the gold medals won by their 2008 and 2012 Olympic squads. In the World Cup Final, the United States defeated Serbia by 37 points to secure a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Only two members of the 2016 U.S. team had Olympic experience, due to a number of withdrawals (mostly brought on by Paul George’s unfortunate injury during a pre-2014 World Cup practise) (Durant and Anthony). When the Americans beat Australia, Serbia, and France by a combined 16 points in the first round, they appeared to be in trouble. However, the team picked up steam against Argentina in the quarterfinal round, winning 105-78. After defeating Spain in the semifinals, the U.S. team faced Serbia again in the gold medal game.
The Americans handily defeated their competitor by 30 points, demonstrating their superiority. The team’s top scorers were Anthony (who won a record third consecutive Olympic gold medal) and Durant, and they combined for an average of 100.9 points per game with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points. Krzyzewski retired as the most successful coach in USA Basketball history after leading three gold-medal winning Olympic teams and two FIBA World Cup victories.