On the eve of men’s Olympic basketball, a reminder that the world is catching up with the USA

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Saitama, Japan (AP) – When the Dream Team era began in 1992, most NBA players in the Olympics represented the United States.

David Stern knew what would happen from there.

“With time,” the former NBA commissioner predicted, “that will change.”

Stern was right. The number of international players in the NBA has risen steadily since then – and the gap between NBA and the rest of the world is narrowing, too. There will be more players in this tournament with NBA experience than ever before, with nearly 70 players in the Tokyo Olympics whether they are current or former players in the league. More than forty of them played in the league this past season.

And only 12 of that group are in Japan to compete with the United States for their chests.

That’s why, when the men’s Olympic tournament opens on Sunday, the medal prospects may be as wide as they have been since the first-team of NBA stars took the field in Barcelona. This group – which includes 11 future Hall of Famers in a 12-man roster – showed the rest of the world just how much they had to do to capture red, white, and blue.

“The gap is getting smaller and smaller every year in terms of talent,” said US coach Gregg Popovich.

The United States is chasing a fourth consecutive gold medal and is the top candidate to do so according to FanDuel, the Americans are the only 12-player team in Tokyo in the NBA. But just as Popovich said and predicted Stern years ago, the talent gap has narrowed dramatically.

Nigeria, who beat the Americans in a fair, has eight players in the NBA. Australia, which also defeated the United States in a friendly match, has seven. So is France, the US’s number one opponent in this Sunday tournament and the nation that knocked Americans out of the Basketball World Cup competition two years ago. That setback propelled the team to seventh place, the worst bid of any tournament ever for an American roster of NBA players.

The story continues

“I think every team wants to beat us,” said US striker Kevin Durant. “Everyone wants to see us lose, so every game has a little more pressure.”

There is only one current All-NBA First Team player at these Olympics. He does not play for the United States

Luka Doncic of Slovenia has received more first-team votes in the All-NBA vote this season, 55, than the entire U.S. Olympic roster has collected. This is Slovenia’s first time at the Olympics, but with Doncic leading the medal talk does not seem misleading.

“Slovenes, we know how to fight, man,” Doncic said. “We won’t go easy.”

Doncic wanted Slovenia to win the Olympic qualifiers, which ended on July 4 and gave the small country a spot in the Tokyo Arena. And what he did in the NBA with Dallas just showed the world that the uproar with which he arrived was more than appropriate.

“He’s a great player, as we all know,” Popovic said. “He’s one of the best players in the world. And I stress, in the world. He showed himself early on in Europe, and he was studying fast in the NBA for sure. He’s fun to watch. His skills, competitiveness, size and innate intelligence in basketball is impressive. I put four People who work hard around it and you have a hell of a team.”

Here’s more about the Olympic rings in Tokyo

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On the eve of men’s Olympic basketball, a reminder that the world is catching up with the USA originally appeared on NBCSports.com

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