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.
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that wouldnt be nearly as exciting
Skills obviously. A family with average skill aren’t going to win the Olympics. Even if they had great chemistry.
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.
Chemistry is more important when you don’t have overwhelming talent.
That’s why a bunch of average to above average NBA players can’t win the FIBA World Cup over teams with only 2-5 NBA players.
I always thought that if USA just sent the most recent NBA champions to represent team USA that they would perform much better
Yeah probably in theory, but NBA teams are comprised of more than just Americans. Celtics happen to have a lot of US players but they would still lose Porzingis and Horford. Imagine sending the Nuggets without Jokic and Murray.
We just need a top tier college coach, not Kerr
Have Hurley or Wright as the next USA coach
Not sure if college coaches are the right answer, but getting rid of Kerr certainly is. Spoelstra should’ve been the head coach this year instead of the assistant.
Problem is when the most recent NBA champions have their best players representing other countries. For example if the Nuggets win, the Nuggets without Jokic and Jamal Murray may not even medal in an Olympics.
Nuggets with Jamal Murray but without Jokic wouldn’t medal.
Sometimes I wonder if people in this sub watched Olympic basketball and realize how much talent there is. Have a look at team Canadas roster. Much better than nuggets without Jockic, and they didn’t medal
The US should 100% prioritize building a team around Aaron Gordon, KCP, and MPJ!
Ok but with the Celtics they basically just had to swap out bigs but otherwise the rest of their rotation is American
Obviously there could still be issues with the format change but it’s not that crazy
Yeah but if you’re swapping people out I feel like it’s not much different than constructing a new team.
If anything maybe you take the coach who wins the Finals and he takes 3 or 4 of his guys as the base of the team and selects complimentary players around them.
But ultimately I think just picking the best players is the best approach. And prioritizing guys that you know are mature enough to slot into a specific supporting role that they may not be used to.
moving forward into '28-32 or later…YES chemistry is more important. sudan, germany, france, serbia all have hung with USA with just ‘role players’ with chemistry. so IMO, next USA team should be chemistry focused.
Chemistry is important but I’d argue the fundamental building of a roster and play styles is more important. Not just having great scorers or passers. But having those guys that are in there and maybe only get two shot attempts but to be pure hustle for rebounds and defense. Or the guy on the second unit who is gonna set hard screens and do dirty work. Stuff like that. Not just having a great starting five of individual talent.
Both are important. But all the team chemistry in the world can’t beat extreme talent, as we’ve seen in these Olympics. Team USA has a ton of guys that can take over a game, which is why we’ve been able to win even though our team only practices together for 1-2 months, compared to other national teams that play together year-round.
10000%. But you also still need elite tier skilled players that can play off ball. The last thing a team with a ton of talent needs is a volume scorer, this is why you need someone like booker being capable of turning into an elite 3&d player rather than finding his own shot.
My “conspiracy theory” for why Brown was snubbed is because coming off a championship, they might see him as egotistical and taking shots away from others rather than playing through lebron and curry. Whereas jrue and white literally have 0 ego and can operate without many touches
Jrue, White, and Tatum were just part of one of the best teams ever assembled in the NBA and won a championship.
How many times did they see the floor together?
Apparently we don’t view chemistry the same way as Kerr.
Most def you do not see things the way Kerr can
Personally I think math is the foundation and physic is more important than chemistry
Listen to KD. He explained it recently. Today’s game is more focused on individual skills and creativity. When you have players this talented they don’t need to have tons of chemistry. These players have so much experience and skill they pretty much already know what to do without having played together.
I’ve wondered the same - like assuming player clones are a thing, I feel like a lot of nba teams could beat team USA in a 7 game series. Maybe I’m nuts.