Olympic Gold Winner Devin Booker Dismisses Notion of Global Teams “Catching Up” to Team USA Post-FIBA Embarrassment

As Team USA looks forward to bagging their fifth consecutive gold medal, there have been talks about countries catching up to their pace. Now, the NBA is the highest level of basketball competition in the world. Of course, there are international players from leagues around the world who are dominating in the NBA. At present, the league seems to be in control of non-Americans. The 2024 All-NBA first team featured four international players alongside the only American, Jayson Tatum. Devin Booker, on the other hand, who was a crucial piece to the 2020 USAB team, addressed otherwise.

Yes, Team USA did not meet anyone’s expectations last year. Not only did they lose the Semi-Finals, but also the Bronze Medal game. This was enough to back the argument that the world is catching up to the Americans’ pace. Though Booker feels different. “I hear a lot of people saying everybody’s catching up to us too, so that keeps us hungry, that keeps us motivated. We have a lot of respect for those guys, but basketball still lies here.”, said Booker. Last year’s events are already a huge motivation for the squad, but then again, knowing how dominant the talent is, the USAB team is the most exceptional this year.

The team features LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and other champions and All-Stars. It is better in many ways than the squad that competed in the FIBA World Championship last year. Regardless, there are teams this year that pose a certain level of threat to the USA even though the outcome is known. France and Canada are two squads to look out for if they ever face the States in the Olympics. On the other hand, Booker’s words on being motivated because of such teams will be put to the test after they start with the playoffs.

It is tough to say that a team of the best non-American players would beat the All-American team. However, it does say a lot about the game’s home culture. It will be interesting to see the stacked roster win their fifth gold in Paris. But along the way, fans will get to see the generational talent share the ball, which may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Devin Booker knows the road

Booker and KD were the main pieces to the 2020 USAB Team. Both were coming off one of the best postseason runs of their career. Devin Booker had just made a trip to the Finals, whereas KD was literally inches away from facing his current teammate. But one of the takeaways from that tour was their loss against France. But it didn’t end there. The squad sought redemption but only by a margin of five points. Not to mention that game against Spain, where the Americans got past them by six.

Of course, they won the gold medal, but it took all of their efforts. It is not normal to see Team USA lose any game in such tournaments. KD and Book have a great idea of what went wrong and they’ll look to make things right this year. The Americans are set to face Serbia in Group Stage on 28th July. This game against the Joker will be one to watch, as Jokic and company dominated the Frenchmen in the friendly game. It will be interesting to see how good of an opponent they can be against the US.

What are your thoughts on the rest of the world climbing the ranks? Do you think USAB will face any rough patches on this tour? Let us know in the comments.

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