“world champions of what?”
Okay, by now I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase circling social media following the close of the FIBA World Cup. A few weeks prior to the tournament, US track star Noah Lyles decided to shift the focus of his press conference to rag on the NBA and the league’s decision to name the NBA champions the “World Champions” of that season. Lyles said: “You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?” to a few chuckles from the crowd.
And of course, the comment went instantly viral, with everyone from actual NBA players to the internet keyboard warriors chiming in to voice their opinion. And there was actually quite a mix of reactions, with some people agreeing with his comment, while others were harshly against it. And I have to say, I’m more on the side of the latter. When you look at the composition of the NBA and the athletes that make it onto these rosters, there are 120 international players from 40 different countries (according to NBA News). The very best basketball players in the WORLD flock to the League and make it their goal to play at the very highest level of competition, so the NBA is made up of essentially the best basketball players across the globe.
There has been a major influx of international players joining the league and making a strong impact on the game. The last five NBA seasons had an international player claim the regular season MVP title, and almost half of the All-NBA Team selections have been non-Americans. The NBA itself is basically a club competition of all these elite GLOBAL basketball players who come together to compete for a championship. And yes, I know the NBA takes place primarily in the United States. But these men are the best in the WORLD. So why not call the winning team World Champions?
Okay, enough of that argument. Let’s get into another one. The clip went viral again a few weeks later following the United States’ fourth place finish at the FIBA men’s World Cup. And as a retired basketball player living in Germany (and still very connected to this basketball community here), I have had a LOT of conversations about this little comment. The German national team took home the gold at the World Cup, which was absolutely amazing and awesome to watch (might have to write about the impact of this win on the growth of the sport within Germany, but hey, we’ll save that for later). But then Team Germany decided to use the viral clip of Lyles as part of their celebration video, and their win turned into an opportunity for everyone to talk down on Team USA. And I know everyone wanted to take that tournament performance as an indicator of the end of the United States’ dominance within the sport, but that’s just not realistic.
The United States’ approach to these non-Olympics global tournaments is not as serious as other countries. Instead of training together their entire lives and developing a solid, lifelong chemistry of playing together, Team USA puts together a mix of young, talented players (who are often playing against each other for the majority of the year) and gives them around two months of training and preparation before heading to the tournament. The FIBA tournaments are just not seen as a priority for these NBA players who face an 82-game season year in and year out. Our superstars need the summer to rest and prepare for the upcoming season, so the “best of the best” that the US has to offer don’t typically participate in these FIBA competitions.
Now do I necessarily agree with this approach? Not entirely. I am a firm believer that these international competitions should be won by the most talented players on the best TEAM. Because at the end of the day, it is a team competition. And I would love to see a Team USA that is built up over the years (like the approach with the Redeem Team back in ‘08) and compete together at all the FIBA and Olympic competitons. But with such a vigorous and demanding NBA schedule, it’s difficult to gather a group of healthy superstars to commit to that extra level of training alongside the rigor of the NBA season. Because at the end of the day, their commitment is to their NBA team first.
However, all of this discourse around the idea that the US is “falling off” when it comes to basketball is getting shut down quick. With the Olympics coming up next summer, NBA Media Day brought on commitments to Team USA from an Avengers-level squad, including: Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, and most recently, Joel Embiid. I’m really curious to see how this competition goes down next summer. Team Germany is coming into the international competition as the reigning FIBA World Champs, and their team chemistry is only going to continue to develop and grow into something beautiful. But the Team USA Revenge Tour? Grab your popcorn, ladies and gents. We’re in for a treat.
