This Olympic men’s basketball team had 10 new players, and no LeBron James, no Steph Curry, no Chris Paul.
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USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says that other countries need to be more competitive in worldwide competition after Team USA won its third straight gold medal at the Rio Olympics, routing Serbia by 30 points. He also guided the Americans to a pair of world championships, an 88-1 record and from the bottom back to the top.
“What I’ve loved the most are these guys”, Krzyzewski said. “I’ve been so lucky to have been given this opportunity”.
The dominant US women’s basketball team won a sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal in impressive fashion, routing Spain 101-72 on Saturday.
Krzyzewski, 69, will hand the reins to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich as he leaves Team USA after almost 11 years and with a 24-0 record in the Olympics. But when Team USA is interested and cares, it imposes its will.
“This team kept getting better and even those three games in pool play, we had not played that type of game against that type of level of opponent”, Krzyzewski said.
“We got challenged and we showed the world we can redeem ourselves and show everyone why we’re the best athletes in the world”, forward DeMar DeRozan said.
Americans have come to expect not just victory from their NBA-bolstered Olympic squads – but crushing dominance.
In addition to the gold medal, Krzyzewski’s last game as National Team head coach resulted in the team’s 76th consecutive win, a National Team record. National Basketball Association teams have had at least 100 foreign players on their rosters the last two seasons; a record 15 worldwide players were selected in the first round of this year’s National Basketball Association draft. They join Teresa Edwards and Lisa Leslie, both of whom won four Olympic titles playing for Team USA.
The Rio Olympics weren’t always so easy for Durant and the United States, but they ended the way most expected, a flawless 8-0 record and gold medal, even if these Americans had to earn it a little more than some of their predecessors.
Then I thought to myself, “My God, they’re on the same team”. He said he’d dig a truly wide-open field, but if that ever happens, it won’t be because Team USA has sunk to the world’s level. The U.S. had struggled in.
It might as well have been game over–the second half felt like a formality.
With a second straight finals appearance in a major worldwide tournament, the Serbs have established themselves as a rising global power.
Spain, which lost to the United States team in the past two Olympic finals, edged Australia 89-88 in the bronze medal game.
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Spain, which restricted the U.S. to an 82-76 victory in the semifinals, beat Australia 89-88 in a controversial finish to the bronze medal match. It seems to only be a matter of time before the Aussies hop onto the podium. Missing Minnesota star Andrew Wiggins and a few others, the Canadians fell short in 2016 but with talent like Tristan Thompson and Tyler Ennis, they have their sights set on Tokyo.
