Jayson Tatum came to the 2024 Paris Olympics on an emotional high. He had just won his first NBA championship and the Boston Celtics rewarded their 26-year-old superstar with a supermax contract worth $315 million over five years. But when Tatum left Paris, he was feeling low despite winning his second Olympic gold medal. Tatum … [Read more…]
Dennis Schroder came through in the clutch to lead Germany over Serbia in the gold medal game at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila, Philippines. Schroder, who had a game-high 28 points in the championship game, was spectacular throughout the tournament, averaging 19.1 points and 6.1 assists en route to winning the FIBA … [Read more…]
It’s disappointing that some of the world’s best players such as Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry won’t be participating in basketball’s biggest international tournament. But their absence shouldn’t take away from the excitement and immense anticipation of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Jokic, the face of Serbia’s national … [Read more…]
The United States senior men’s national team enters the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with the weight of the world on its shoulder. Being the hunted is a familiar position for Team USA after being so dominant for nearly 20 years. But the rest of the world is catching up, and winning a gold medal … [Read more…]
Victor Wembanyama doesn’t like being called “The Unicorn.” It’s the nickname mostly associated with Latvian standout Kristaps Porzingis. About the only thing Wembanyama and Porzingis have in common is their height. Both are extremely tall men raised on European soil. But the comparisons end there. Wembanyama is a far, far better prospect at this stage … [Read more…]
Italy, Poland, and Germany pulled off three massive shockers in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, ending the phenomenal tournament runs of arguably the three best players in the world. All-NBA first-teamers Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo put up impressive games throughout EuroBasket 2022, but their individual greatness were not enough to carry their nations … [Read more…]
If there were any doubts that Kevin Durant was back near the top of list of best basketball players in the world, they were all extinguished during the 2021 NBA playoffs and the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo. Durant was nothing short of spectacular during the men’s basketball tournament at the Saitama Super Arena in … [Read more…]
To say that USA Basketball had a rocky training camp heading into the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo would be an understatement. The senior men’s national team lost its first two exhibition games in Las Vegas, had three players enter the health and safety COVID protocols, and two players dropped out. Even head coach Gregg … [Read more…]
Gregg Popovich became Papa-vich almost immediately after Team USA’s win over Poland on the final day of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. What should have been the culmination of another USA dominance at the World Cup turned into a sad post-mortem following the worst finish by an American squad in an Olympic or World … [Read more…]
Ever since Jerry Colangelo took over USA Basketball as the program’s managing director, the U.S. men’s senior national team has completely dominated the competition, winning three Olympic gold medals and two FIBA World Cup gold medals. For more than a decade, Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have helmed the top basketball program in the … [Read more…]