I always thought that if USA just sent the most recent NBA champions to represent team USA that they would perform much better than just sending the absolute best players because the NBA champions are cohesive unit where every player knows their exact role and Team USA typically have to figure out how to play with each other.
I always thought there was a huge diminishing return on a ton of individually skillful players since in the end, there is only 1 ball.
Imo the only reason other teams can keep up with the US (there are other smaller reasons, but no need to bash the NBA play style in this thread) is that they have chemistry and understanding of the system they want to play in. I always like to use the word identity. Team USA hasn’t had an identity for years apart from “Chuck up shots, we’re better anyway, so it’ll equal out”.
While part of that can be attributed to less time spent together, most of it might just be a question of role distribution. Adding role players to Team USA makes sense, because they know how to fill a specific niche. Not every star can adjust like Booker did. You need your Derrick Whites and Josh Harts.
Let me put it this way: Our German team left Hartenstein out and instead went with Voigtmann - won 2 medals in 3 years that way. Sometimes it’s just smart to have guys on the team that understand their role.