![]() In what had become a theme for Team USA by 2006, the Americans had a roster with backcourt issues. Despite a line-up that included several elite stars including LeBron, D-Wade, Carmelo and Elton Brand, the 2006 team couldn’t quite break the drought due to a 101-95 loss to the upstart Greeks in the semifinals. PF: 3 rd (Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison)īy 2006, USA Basketball was in a rut, having won Gold only once since 1996. SF: 4 th (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier) Clearly the 1998 team would get crushed head-to-head against both the 20 teams, but it gets slotted ahead based on its on-court results and (as painful as it is to say) lesser expectations. Scoring leaders were Oliver (Spanish Club Ciuda De Huelva Purdue) and Wendell Alexis (German club ALBA Berlin Syracuse) at 11.8 and 11.6 ppg, respectively. Had expectations really fallen to being satisfied with moral victories and a medal of any color? The challenges that the 1998 team faced really wasn’t that different than those faced by teams from the pre-1992 era, and for the most part they all seemed to do just fine. The negative spin is that, as the nation that invented basketball, nothing but Gold is acceptable to the United States. The ragtag bunch did come home with a Bronze medal, and was just two point losses against Lithuania (84-82 a Jimmy Oliver game-winning three just missed at the buzzer) and Russia (66-64 the US led by 10 points inside of three minutes) away from an undefeated tournament. The positive spin on 1998 is that with NBA labor issues preventing its players from participating on Team USA, a group of amateurs, CBA and overseas professionals that was thrown together in just the three weeks leading up to training camp performed admirably under the circumstances. PF: 10 th (Wendell Alexis, Gerard King, David Wood) SF: 10 th (Jimmy Oliver, Jason Sasser, Bill Edwards) PG: 10 th (Michael Hawkins, Kiwane Garris) International players like Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Yao Ming (China), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Peja Stojakovic (Yugoslavia) and Pau Gasol (Spain) led national teams no longer intimidated by the US star power. Strong play from Paul Pierce (19.8 ppg on 48 percent from the field and 49 percent from three) was one of the few bright spots for the Americans. The honor that is playing for your country had clearly become lost on the league’s current crop of superstars as not a single 1 st or 2 nd Team 2001-02 All-NBA player was on the squad. Not only did the US suffer its first loss ever with an NBA-filled roster, but it lost three of its final four games, limping to a previously unfathomable 6 th place finish. The 2002 team’s beginning was familiar enough with a 50 point cakewalk over Algeria and a 5-0 start to the FIBA Championships, but by the time the tournament ended, it was a new era of international basketball. PF: 8 th (Elton Brand, Raef LaFrentz, Antonio Davis) PG: 8 th (Baron Davis, Andre Miller, Jay Williams) Tim Duncan was in the prime of his career, but getting him only 8.4 shots per game ensured the spectacular failure that was the 2004 team. Several of the most talented players were way short on experience (Okafor had yet to play an NBA game and LeBron, D-Wade, Carmelo were all coming off their rookie seasons). Iverson (2.5 assists per game) and Marbury (3.4 apg) were score-first point guards that did little to get teammates involved, and not a single elite three-point shooter was on the roster. ![]() ![]() This team had talent, but it was severely lacking in guard play. The 84 points allowed per game is the worst by a US team in the NBA-era and a 19-point drubbing at the hands of Puerto Rico (a team that went 3-4 and finished 6 th) is the most embarrassing loss in USA Basketball history. Despite salvaging the Bronze Medal, the 2004 team went a shocking 5-3. Heading into the Athens Games, USA Basketball was 110-2 all-time in Olympic play, and one of those losses is still arguably the most controversial finish in all of sports. The 2004 team was dubbed the Nightmare Team for a reason. PF: 7 th (Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire, Lamar Odom) SF: 6 th (Carmelo Anthony, Shawn Marion, Richard Jefferson) PG: 6 th (Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury) Losses: Puerto Rico 92-73, Lithuania 94-90, Argentina 89-81 ![]()
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