U.S. Team Is No Longer King of World

Sooner or later, a team of NBA stars representing the United States is going to lose an international basketball game.

If it happens before Athens 2004 or Beijing 2008, maybe it’ll happen right in the heart of Hoosierville between now and Sept. 8.

It all depends on how much the world has caught up--along with how good of a team the United States is sending.

“If we take this like an All-Star game, we can get beat,” U.S. Coach George Karl said. “If we take it like a playoff game, I don’t think we can get beat.”

What is about to transpire at the RCA Dome and Conseco Fieldhouse is viewed in other parts of the world as an event much, much bigger than the Olympics.

If the improbable happens and some other team walks away with the gold, there will be bedlam in the streets of Belgrade, Barcelona, Buenos Aires or some other burg.

Despite what many American hoops fans may believe, such a scenario is no longer farfetched. A decade after the original Dream Team waltzed through Barcelona, the international basketball community is no longer in awe.

Quite to the contrary, America is the target.

“It’s American arrogance that says the Olympics are the biggest thing,” Karl said. “America has glamorized the Olympics as the championships, right or wrong, good or bad. But three or four of these teams have already pinpointed this tournament as more important.”

The teams from Yugoslavia, Turkey, Argentina and other countries have been training for months, drilling and preparing for the tournament that comes around once every four years.

With the worldwide growth of the sport in recent years, a procession of walkovers by the U.S. team is no longer a lock. The United States still holds the edge in talent from the top to bottom of its roster, but many of the competitors have an edge in familiarity by having played together for several years.

“It’s not really about who brings the best athletes to the tournament, but who brings the best team,” said U.S. guard Jay Williams. “It’s just like the NBA: On any given day, any team can beat any team.”

That’s a pretty strong admission from a player whose country, for the past decade, has not only been expected to win every game -- but also to do it with ease and flair.

The United States enters this tournament with a record of 53-0 since NBA players began representing it at international competitions.

The U.S. team will be a prohibitive favorite again, but there will be several NBA players on the rosters of other nations.

Yugoslavia can field a team of five players--Vlade Divac, Predrag Drobnjak, Peja Stojakovic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Marko Jaric--who earn their living playing in the NBA.

Turkey’s lineup includes Hedo Turkoglu of the Sacramento Kings, Mehmet Okur of the Detroit Pistons and Mirsad Turkcan, who played briefly with the Knicks and Bucks.

Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies will play for Spain; Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas plays for Germany; Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko will suit up for Russia; Oscar Torres of the Houston Rockets will be playing for Venezuela; and Yao Ming, the No. 1 pick of the Houston Rockets in June’s NBA draft, will represent China.

“It’s much different now,” said Reggie Miller, who at 37 will be the oldest member of the U.S. team. “If you look at our past All-Star game, a lot of our superstars were international superstars. The international competition as well as the level of those teams is far better because of those guys’ expertise.”

Many of the best American players, including Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady, will not be playing in this tournament.

The Americans will still field a formidable team of Jermaine O’Neal, Ben Wallace, Antonio Davis, Raef LaFrentz, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, Williams, Reggie Miller, Andre Miller, Baron Davis and Michael Finley.

American teams have had a pair of extremely narrow victories over the last two years.

At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, only a last-second miss by Lithuania allowed the United States to escape with a two-point victory. And at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, the U.S. team was taken into overtime by Brazil before finally prevailing.

Four players from the Goodwill Games team remain on the U.S. roster, but there are no holdovers from Sydney. The only player with Olympics or World Championships experience is Reggie Miller.

Whereas the United States has a 109-2 record in the Olympics, its record in the World Championships is only 91-23.

Yugoslavia is the defending champion, having won in 1998 when an NBA lockout resulted in the United States fielding a team of collegians and minor leaguers.

The U.S. team is well aware of the high standard it is expected to uphold: Not only winning the gold medal, but also finishing with its record still unblemished.