While the US team is intent on winning the gold medal in Beijing, there is obviously still a chance that they could win silver or bronze. Teams have improved since the the ’92 Olympics and a Spain or Greece now has a great chance to beat the NBA’s biggest stars.
If the United States does not win the gold this time around, it will definitely be the lowest point for the US team in the storied history of the program. The thought of another bronze medal at this Olympic tournament is scary. The US has no more excuses. They cannot say that they came in unfocused, especially after losing at the last three international competitions. They have worked extremely hard the past two years, so they cannot say that they were not prepared. USA Basketball has also assembled the best team possible. This time, it has also included Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard are there and they have a designated shooter in Michael Redd (most players on the US can shoot the ball). If a team with LeBron and Kobe cannot win gold, then no team that the US could assemble can win gold.
If the US does lose, then they would have fully lost their best-in-the-world status. All links to the ’92 team would die out because international teams have gotten better ever since those Barcelona Olympics. There is no going back. It is also safe to say that the United States would never again regain their dominant string of consecutive gold medals in the sport of basketball. That is what’s on the line.
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