Analyzing the US Olympic Golds in Basketball

Team USA won both the men’s and women’s Olympic basketball golds in Paris recently. The men’s team, starring future hall-of-famers Lebron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, humbled a young, scrappy French squad 98-87 to collect their 5th straight gold medal. Over in the distaff side, the US ladies nipped a fighting homecrowd-inspired France 67-66 to win their 8th straight gold in the event, and  demonstrate its complete domination of the sport. 

Well…. let’s hold on a bit there…. it seems that we may have gone a bit overboard on the term ‘domination’, as the star-studded Star Spangled squads were clearly challenged in both the men’s and the women’s side. 

In the men’s division, the US almost lost to the Nikola Jokic-led Serbian squad in the semifinals 95-91, even trailing by 17 in the 3rd quarter before they got their acts together. With Steph Curry leading the fightback, Team USA rallied to win just in the nick of time. Steph’s 36 points carried the team back in the fight, hitting an eye-popping 9 of 14 from the 3-point line.

In the finals, it was the fighting French who were still in the thick of the fight in the last 2 minutes when Steph unleashed 3 booming 3-pointers to bid them night-night. Steph Curry’s heroics in both the semis and the finals should have gotten him the MVP title, but Lebron’s steady performance from the start of the games carried him through. 

On the women’s front, the talent-laden US ladies team sleep-walked to the finals, where they finally met some form of opposition from France. The game was not for France to win; but rather, it was for the US side to lose. With an all-star cast featuring WNBA’s finest, with a clear advantage in height and heft, and in talent and experience, nobody gave the Frenchies a chance to win. But ‘Les Bleues’ dug deep with their defense to put up a heroic resistance. In the end, they may have lost – by one measly point – but they showed everyone that the world’s most dominant basketball team, holder of 8 consecutive Olympic championships, can be brought down to its knees. 

The finals in this edition of the Olympics have certainly showcased the steady progress of the sport worldwide. And it tells us that ‘the world is getting close’ to catching Team USA’s domination in basketball. The 1992 edition of Team USA, fondly remembered as the original Dream Team, demolished opponents by an average margin of 44 points. This year’s edition, equally star-studded with the likes of Lebron, Steph and KD, won by an average margin of just 19 points. 

Moreover, the ‘92 Dream Team faced only 22 active or former NBA players on the opposition teams. This year, a total of 69 active or former NBA players bolstered 11 other countries. Foreign stars included present  and past MVPs Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo; MVP hopefuls Luka Doncic and Shae Gilgeous Alexander; plus other name stars such as the upcoming Victor Wembanyama, Jamal Murray, etc. Canada had 10 NBA players on their roster, Australia had 9, France had 5, while Germany and Serbia had 4 each. This tells us that foreign teams are no longer in awe of Team USA. Rather, they relish the opportunity to showcase their talents against these big stars. 

The same holds true with the ladies’ side, as foreign players have learned much playing with WNBA stars. Gabby Williams, formerly with the Chicago Sky, and now reportedly poised to re-sign with the Seattle Storm, almost singlehandedly brought the Frenchies the ladies crown. Given 1 or 2 more experienced support players, France could have stolen the women’s crown. 

Clearly, the global game has progressed. In last year’s FIBA World Cup held in Manila, Germany’s win and Team USA’s relegation to a humbling 4th place finish highlighted the fact that foreign teams, given 3 to 4 players with NBA experience, could already be competitive at the global stage. The debacle in Manila, I believe, was what prompted the Team USA to bring in their best players to Paris. Although there may also be cases when it is precisely the preponderance of established stars that could well be a factor in derailing team chemistry. 

This Olympics’ edition of the Team USA men’s team boasted of so much talent, it wiped off all but 2 members of last year’s FIBA team. Anthony Edwards, considered the USA-FIBA Team’s go-to guy was relegated to a reserve. The other hold-over in Coach Steve Kerr’s roster was Tyrese Halliburton, who would play minor minutes in the Olympics. 

Team USA may have annexed both the men’s and women’s 5×5 golds in Paris, but it doesn’t have a lock on the same events next Olympics. Although there will be a huge advantage with the homecrowd in Los Angeles in 2028, the reality is that the world has been catching up on the US side.

On the men’s side, Wembanyama will be joined by 2 more French top draft picks in the NBA. Victor and these young picks will have gained valuable experience and could be ready to do battle in the hardcourt. Other countries such as Serbia, Canada, Australia will have ticked off the NBA experience factor. If no new faces join the pool of talents for Team USA, it could find itself in a dogfight with the other countries mentioned. 

As for the women’s side, if the new batch of stars anchored by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese uproot the oldies in Team USA, then it should be difficult for any other country to dislodge them. The energy of the young guns, bolstered by the experience of some holdover vets, will make it difficult for any foreign entity to challenge the US. There is certainly a wealth of talent coming out from the collegiate ranks as of now. And this will be a great talent pool for the team for the years to come. 

There you have it. For the 2028 Olympic basketball intrams, I foresee the US men’s team having more problems as more foreign players with NBA experience suit up. For the ladies, I foresee Team USA once again breaking the bank. No other team has the capability to challenge the US of A as of now. But with a robust and rapidly-expanding WNBA, we can never tell if there’s a hidden gem somewhere there that could change the game even more.

Cover photo courtesy of . Other photos courtesy of Dunkest, News 18, The West Australian, The New York Post, CNN, AP News, France 24, The Irish Independent, USAToday, AFP, Al Jazeera, and High Post Hoops.