Keith Strudler: The Meaning Of An Exhibition

There are very few teams in global sports that carry as much cache as the USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team – a team still commonly referred to as the Dream Team from their 1992 pedigree. Since that time when they first began to load the national roster with NBA superstars, international tournaments like the Olympics were seen more as a coronation than a competition – so much that since ’92, it’s been a bigger deal the one time they didn’t win the Gold in 2004 than the six times they did.

That, of course, is the expectation once again this year, with a team led by Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant and including Damion Lillard, Jason Tatum, and a bunch of guys that get max contracts. Meaning that even though there are some obvious big names not heading to Tokyo – say, LeBron James, James Harden and Chris Paul, for example – there is more than enough firepower to easily will the US to the top of the podium once again. At least that’s what we all believed.

That certainty has been deconstructed just a bit after the US lost two consecutive exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia, respectively, neither team considered threats to the gold medal despite having NBA athletes on both. The US did redeem itself with a definitive win over Argentina, which, US head coach Gregg Popovich described as “better.” And they still aren’t full strength yet, with injuries and some players still in the NBA Final, so there’s reason to be optimistic heading to Tokyo in a matter of days. And yes, the Olympics will happen, like it or not.

It’s not hard to understand why the US has dominated Olympic Basketball like it has, just like it’s not surprising that China dominates Table Tennis and Canada rules Curling. These sports are part of the national DNA and, certainly in the case of the US and basketball, are supported by an enormous economic engine. And since the Olympics has allowed professional athletes amongst their contingency, something you young folks assumed was always, it’s nearly impossible to stop the monied machine that is USA Basketball.

I suppose what’s more surprising is why or how we ever lose, which does occasionally happen. It’s certainly never been a question of talent. The 2004 Bronze Medal team had Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, and LeBron James on the roster. So that’s not the issue. There is an argument that as the game of basketball continues its global expansion, inevitably there will be players from other countries that rise to the level of American exceptionalism. But that said, for every Luka Doncic, there’s a dozen American athletes of similar talent. I’d argue seven of the top ten NBA players right now are American, making any American Olympic squad hard to beat.

Another theory is that because of the stress and financial promise of the NBA, American basketball players don’t spend a lot of time working together as Team USA. In some sports, like hockey, NHL athletes are barely allowed to go to the Olympics, much less practice for it – and they certainly aren’t incentivized. One career altering injury off contract at the Olympics can cost a lifetime of big contracts in the pros. Which means these US teams, while talented, are basically in a perennial state of preseason. Also, perhaps American professional athletes don’t feel the same sense of nationalism as do those from other countries, at least those without the professional sporting infrastructure of the US. Ask an American basketball player if he’d rather win an NBA Title or an Olympic Gold, and it’s not even close. Ask a European Soccer Player if they’d rather win the Premier League or the World Cup, and I think you’d get a different answer. So for likely a long list of reasons, sporting nationalism, at least in big dollar sports, may run less deep stateside.

So what does that mean for USA Basketball and the Tokyo Olympics? Likely nothing. The US may lose a couple of exhibition games they absolutely should have won, but that’s about as predictive as a presidential nominee winning a straw poll before the Iowa Primary. This tournament will be won in Japan when in matters, not some arena in Vegas when it doesn’t. When it comes down to it, inspiration can only take you so far, particularly when you’re trying to keep Kevin Durant from the hoop. The US should, and dare I say will win the Gold Medal at the Olympics, and these exhibitions will be nothing more than an afterthought. And the competition will remain, at least for now, a coronation.

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