Will LeBron James return to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics? Here’s a better question: Will Team USA even need him? Team USA’s global dominance is recalling the days of the original Dream Teams of the 1990s. The Americans steamrolled Serbia, 129-92, in the gold medal game of the 2014 World Cup in Madrid on Sunday, capping a tournament that became a coming-out party for a handful of new international stars. There were questions about the quality of Team USA’s roster following the withdrawal
MADRID — Team USA’s bus was parked in the narrow street outside the Palacio de los Deportes, and a crowd dozens of people deep — folks from Espana, Serbia and America, too — broke into a chant of “M-V-P” for Kyrie Irving as he exited the arena and made his way on board. He heard them, and he let them know that he had heard them. Kenneth Faried got a lot of love, too, and gave some back with that whiter-than-white
BARCELONA — Quite the bizarro scene in the post-game press conference after Team USA destroyed Lithuania in the semifinals of the World Cup. There was a reporter from Slovenia who had been going back and forth with coach Mike Krzyzewski over the past several days — he wanted to ask questions that Coach K did not want to answer, and Coach K told him he’d answer his questions over a glass of wine when the time was appropriate. So the guy from
Team USA had nothing to play for, and it showed. The Americans already had clinched Group C at the FIBA World Cup by winning their first four games. While other countries jockeyed to get into the knockout stage – or avoid certain opponents – Team USA was on cruise control in Friday’s game vs. war-torn Ukraine. The United States was playing for the fifth time in six nights and had a start time four hours earlier than Thursday. The combination of apathy
I hate to say I told you so, but after the first day of Team USA training camp in Las Vegas, I wrote that Kenny “The Manimal” Faried must be the first guy selected for the roster and everyone else should come thereafter. My reasoning was Faried’s motor, toughness and energy level with intangibles such as putbacks and garbage points would be invaluable to this team. In Sunday’s come-from-behind victory against Turkey, Faried led Team USA team with 22 points and
The latest version of Team USA that is preparing to defend its title at the World Cup of Basketball in Spain is much bigger than previous editions. But is it better? Previous American squads were built around perimeter players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, none of whom are here this time around. The stud of this squad appears to be Anthony Davis, who was entering his senior year of high school when the last World Cup was
NEW YORK — Two pieces of news to report after Team USA’s final exhibition game on American soil: They are going to bring only 12 players on the plane tomorrow when they fly to Grand Canary Island, and while they are in the air they will discuss whether Derrick Rose should remain the starting point guard. Four players will be cut Saturday morning, and the educated guess here is that those four will be Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver, Chandler Parsons and
Team USA smothered the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the inconsequential final score was 105-62, but the Americans didn’t have the tallest or most intriguing player in the game. In fact, the tallest and most intriguing player in Wednesday’s contest hasn’t even started college yet. Meet Karl Towns, the 7-foot-1 big man from New Jersey who plays for the Dominican team and will soon start his freshman year at the University of Kentucky as one of the top NBA prospects