After many notable NBA stars decided to opt out of Team USA for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, there were low expectations. But even for these low expectations, Team USA may have performed even worse than pundits thought. Led by Kemba Walker and young talent in Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum, this year’s team was expected to compete for the gold medal and bring the USA back to its glory days of dominating basketball.
However, they completely and utterly underachieved, finishing 7th, their worst ever. There were no superstars on the roster, and Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton were the only All-Stars. After looking good in their first game against the Czech Republic, they somehow squeezed out a 1-point win against Turkey in the next game. They went on to beat Japan, Greece, and Brazil before losing to Rudy Gobert and France. They still had the chance for a high-place finish, but they dropped the subsequent game to Serbia. They ended it off with a win against Poland, but Team USA fans were quick to chastise them for the poor performance and low-place finish.
This team is arguably the worst FIBA team the USA has ever put out, but hopefully they return to glory in the 2020 Olympics. NBA superstar Stephen Curry has already committed to next year’s Olympics, and we are expecting to see a lot more stars join him on their quest for US glory.
