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'There's stress': USA Basketball has always faced unique pressure at Olympics
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/17/usa-basketball-olympics-pressure-history‘There’s stress’: USA Basketball has always faced unique pressure at Olympics
Heavy lies the crown of the US men’s basketball team, who have always been expected to win gold, a pressure that’s only redoubled in the years since NBA players joined up
Jacob Uitti
Wed 17 Jul 2024 04.00 EDT
When playing for Team USA in the Olympics, it can feel like a no-win situation for a professional basketball player. Though it was invented by Canadian James Naismith, the sport has become the quintessential American global game. The United States men’s team has won the dominant share of gold medals in the competition, taking home the top prize 16 times, silver once in 1972 and bronze twice in 1988 and 2004. But ever since America brought the pros in to play in 1992, beginning with star-studded Dream Team, it has been more pressurized. If Team USA wins, it’s expected. If they lose, it’s a failure. That is the same for the women’s side, too, though they’ve been even more dominant than the men through the decades.
Nevertheless, Team USA continues to draw the biggest names in hoops every four years to compete. And the forthcoming 2024 Games in Paris is no different, with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant set to suit up for the men’s team and Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi for the women. But what should newcomers like Anthony Edwards or Sabrina Ionescu expect this year when playing for their country? “International basketball,” says two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who led Team USA’s men’s squad to gold in 2000, “the pressure is elevated to a level that is really high, especially for Americans.”
Not only are expectations sky-high, but preparation can be minimal, Tomjanovich notes. While many other international teams are coalescing throughout the year, NBA and WNBA players are competing against one another in their respective leagues. Their teams usually only come together in a matter of weeks to play in the Olympics. This year’s teams set for Paris, for example, have never played together as 12-person units.
“We had to play basic basketball,” Tomjanovich says of his 2000 roster, meaning his team didn’t have the time to institute anything complex. “We had a few plays. But we wanted to play defense and run. We tried to get our big guys posted up early. If we didn’t get the fast break, then here come the big guys into the past and we’d play basketball off that.”
[...]
Heavy lies the crown of the US men’s basketball team, who have always been expected to win gold, a pressure that’s only redoubled in the years since NBA players joined up
Jacob Uitti
Wed 17 Jul 2024 04.00 EDT
When playing for Team USA in the Olympics, it can feel like a no-win situation for a professional basketball player. Though it was invented by Canadian James Naismith, the sport has become the quintessential American global game. The United States men’s team has won the dominant share of gold medals in the competition, taking home the top prize 16 times, silver once in 1972 and bronze twice in 1988 and 2004. But ever since America brought the pros in to play in 1992, beginning with star-studded Dream Team, it has been more pressurized. If Team USA wins, it’s expected. If they lose, it’s a failure. That is the same for the women’s side, too, though they’ve been even more dominant than the men through the decades.
Nevertheless, Team USA continues to draw the biggest names in hoops every four years to compete. And the forthcoming 2024 Games in Paris is no different, with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant set to suit up for the men’s team and Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi for the women. But what should newcomers like Anthony Edwards or Sabrina Ionescu expect this year when playing for their country? “International basketball,” says two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who led Team USA’s men’s squad to gold in 2000, “the pressure is elevated to a level that is really high, especially for Americans.”
Not only are expectations sky-high, but preparation can be minimal, Tomjanovich notes. While many other international teams are coalescing throughout the year, NBA and WNBA players are competing against one another in their respective leagues. Their teams usually only come together in a matter of weeks to play in the Olympics. This year’s teams set for Paris, for example, have never played together as 12-person units.
“We had to play basic basketball,” Tomjanovich says of his 2000 roster, meaning his team didn’t have the time to institute anything complex. “We had a few plays. But we wanted to play defense and run. We tried to get our big guys posted up early. If we didn’t get the fast break, then here come the big guys into the past and we’d play basketball off that.”
[...]