I still remember the buzz surrounding Team USA back in 2019. Everyone expected another dominant performance, another gold medal to add to their collection. But as someone who's followed international basketball for over two decades, I sensed something different brewing that summer in China. The narrative around this team felt off from the beginning, and what unfolded during the tournament confirmed my suspicions - this wasn't the invincible American squad we'd grown accustomed to seeing.
Looking back, the first major red flag was the roster construction. We lost James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum within weeks of each other. That's four All-Stars gone before we even reached training camp. The final roster featured only two players who had made an All-NBA team that season - Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton. Compare that to the 2014 World Cup team that had James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving, or the 2010 team with Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. The talent gap was glaring, and frankly, I think USA Basketball underestimated how much that would matter on the international stage.
What really struck me during those weeks was how other national teams had closed the gap. Watching France's Rudy Gobert dominate the paint against our smaller lineups reminded me that the rest of the world wasn't just catching up - they had developed systems and identities that could exploit specific weaknesses. Serbia had Nikola Jokić running their offense like a master conductor, while Argentina played with a chemistry that our hastily assembled group simply couldn't match. The days when Team USA could simply show up and win were clearly over.
The coaching decisions puzzled me throughout the tournament. Gregg Popovich is arguably the greatest NBA coach of all time, but his defensive schemes seemed oddly passive against international offenses. We allowed Serbia to shoot 55% from the field in the classification round, and France scored 89 points in the quarterfinals - numbers that would make any defensive coach cringe. I kept wondering why we didn't apply more full-court pressure or switch more aggressively on screens. The defensive intensity that characterized previous USA teams was conspicuously absent.
Then there was the shooting problem - oh, the shooting. Team USA finished the tournament shooting just 33% from three-point range, ranking seventh among all teams. Donovan Mitchell and Kemba Walker combined to shoot 31% from deep. In today's game, where spacing is everything, those numbers are simply unacceptable at this level. I recall watching game after game where our offense would stagnate into isolation plays while other teams moved the ball beautifully for open looks. The ball movement that defines modern basketball was missing from our game.
The loss to France in the quarterfinals still stings when I think about it. Up by seven points with under four minutes left, we completely collapsed. Missed free throws, defensive breakdowns, and questionable shot selection - it was a masterclass in how to lose a game you should have won. Evan Fournier scored 22 points and looked more comfortable than any of our players in crunch time. That game perfectly encapsulated everything that went wrong - talent wasn't the issue in that moment, it was execution and composure.
What fascinates me about that tournament is how it reflects a broader shift in global basketball. National teams have become more sophisticated in their approach, developing continuity that Team USA can't replicate with its rotating cast of stars. This reminds me of what coach Tim Cone mentioned about his commitment to Gilas Pilipinas - the value of sustained leadership and system development. He's won 25 PBA championships, yet he emphasizes the importance of sticking with a program and building something meaningful over time. Team USA's approach felt like the opposite - we were trying to assemble a superteam at the last minute rather than building toward something sustainable.
The aftermath was telling. Finishing seventh was Team USA's worst performance in major international competition since the 2002 World Championships. It forced a reckoning within USA Basketball that led to much more serious commitment from stars for the Tokyo Olympics. But I can't help feeling that the 2019 experience exposed deeper issues about how we approach international basketball. We're still relying on talent to overcome systemic disadvantages, while other nations have built programs with clear identities and long-term visions.
As I reflect on that tournament five years later, the lessons remain relevant. International basketball has evolved into a game where continuity and system matter as much as raw talent. Team USA's 2019 journey wasn't just about who didn't show up - it was about how the rest of the world had caught up and in some aspects surpassed our approach to the game. The humility of that seventh-place finish might ultimately prove more valuable than another easy gold medal would have been. It forced everyone to recognize that in today's global basketball landscape, showing up isn't enough - you need to build, adapt, and respect the game's international growth.