Team USA's warm ups to the Olympics have recently gotten a little bumpy. For a nation who has come to expect utter dominance from our men's national basketball team, the tight games against South Sudan and Germany have raised alarm bells. They are not sounding in Adam Silver's office, I'll tell you that much.
Every men's professional league has played a game or series outside of the United States, with some frequency, in the attempt to "grow the game". American sports were so successful at this that the Europeans and South Americans have started bringing their game to the US. As a result, soccer is one of the faster growing sports in the country, and US men's and women's soccer are now players on an international stage, and Major League Soccer is pulling major international superstars.
Like soccer, the barrier to entry in basketball is very low. which allows talented players to emerge from anywhere. South Sudan, for example. Or Serbia or Slovenia, where two of the best players are form, or Nigeria, via Greece. Even Germany had 4 players currently in the NBA on their roster. Surely, the NBA's aggressive global outreach was an important factor in introducing the game, if not to Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antentokuompo, then surely their friends, or mentors, or whomever taught them the game.
Now the Olympics are hard. While it isn't great for American interests, this is probably a boon for the IOC as well. Having a globally popular game with world famous athletes playing competitive games will bring eye, which can sometimes be hard to come by for the Olympiad.
Team USA's struggles are not reflective of an issue with Team USA, even though the criticism will come back on that organization. It's the targeted development of the international game, which is part of a trend in American sports leagues. It's been a resounding success for the NBA, even if it has the potential for disaster in Paris.
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