I still remember watching the 2019 USA Basketball World Cup team with high expectations, only to witness what many consider one of the most disappointing performances in recent basketball history. As someone who's followed international basketball for over fifteen years, I've seen Team USA dominate global competitions with what seemed like effortless superiority. But that 2019 squad in China felt different from the moment they stepped on the court, and their eventual seventh-place finish—the worst in USA Basketball history for either the Olympics or World Cup—wasn't just surprising, it was revealing.
The problems started long before the tournament tipped off. We had what many called a "B-team" situation, with only three players from the original 20-man roster actually making the trip to China. Think about that—only 15% of our initial projected roster actually committed. When you compare that to the 1992 Dream Team that featured 11 Hall of Famers or even the 2008 Redeem Team with legends like Kobe and LeBron, the talent gap becomes painfully obvious. The 2019 team was missing the marquee names that typically define USA Basketball, and it showed in their lack of chemistry and late-game execution.
What struck me most during those games was how other nations had caught up dramatically. Teams like Argentina, France, and Serbia weren't just hoping to compete—they genuinely believed they could win, and they played with a cohesion that our squad simply couldn't match. I remember watching France's Evan Fournier scoring 22 points against us in the quarterfinals, looking every bit as confident as he does in the NBA, while our players seemed to be searching for an identity that never materialized.
The roster construction itself was fundamentally flawed. We had only one true center in Brook Lopez, and our guard-heavy lineup struggled against bigger international teams. The absence of reliable three-point shooting became glaring—we shot just 33% from beyond the arc throughout the tournament, compared to Serbia's impressive 45%. When your offense relies on driving and kicking but you can't make teams pay for collapsing in the paint, you're playing with one hand tied behind your back.
But beyond the statistics and roster issues, there was something deeper missing—that intangible quality of resilience that previous USA teams had in abundance. I'm reminded of something Filipino basketball player Aljon Barba once said after his own professional disappointment: "Dahil hindi tayo pinalad makapag-pro, baka hindi pa talaga para sa akin mag-pro at may dahilan talaga si God bakit nangyari yun." While Barba was speaking about his personal journey, his words resonate with what I believe happened to that 2019 team—sometimes things don't work out as planned, and there might be larger reasons why certain paths unfold as they do. The 2019 squad seemed to lack that sense of destiny and unity that characterized previous American teams.
The coaching decisions puzzled me throughout the tournament. Coach Gregg Popovich, whom I deeply respect, seemed to be searching for combinations that never quite clicked. His decision to limit Donovan Mitchell's minutes in crucial moments still baffles me, especially when we needed scoring desperately. Meanwhile, players like Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton were asked to carry offensive loads they weren't accustomed to in international play.
What really stood out to me was how other nations had adopted and perfected the American style of play while maintaining their fundamental strengths. Serbia ran offensive sets more sophisticated than anything I've seen in the NBA, while France played defense with a physicality that clearly disrupted our rhythm. The rest of the world hadn't just caught up—in many ways, they had evolved beyond us in international competition.
The loss to France in the quarterfinals was particularly telling. We led for most of the game but collapsed in the final minutes, scoring just 10 points in the fourth quarter. That's not just poor shooting—that's a failure of execution and composure under pressure. The subsequent loss to Serbia confirmed that this wasn't a fluke but a systematic issue with how the team was constructed and prepared.
Looking back, I believe the 2019 failure was a necessary wake-up call for USA Basketball. The era of simply showing up and winning because we're America is clearly over. Other nations have developed their own basketball identities while we've struggled to maintain continuity in our international program. The fact that we only had two players from that 2019 team return for the Tokyo Olympics speaks volumes about how that experience was viewed internally.
The silver lining, if there is one, is that this disappointment forced a reckoning within USA Basketball. It highlighted the need for better player commitment, more strategic roster construction, and a renewed focus on international competition's unique demands. While I never enjoy seeing American basketball struggle, I appreciate how this failure has sparked important conversations about how we approach the global game moving forward. Sometimes you need to fall short to remember what it takes to be great, and I'm hopeful that the lessons from 2019 will lead to a stronger, more prepared USA Basketball program in future competitions.
