Although it appears that almost all basketball enthusiasts can agree on the idea that this past 2024 USA Olympic basketball team has been the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the reign of this nation is slowing down. In the past, we have seen Team USA completely dominate the competition in the Olympics, practically always blowing out the opposing team. This year, however, competition in other countries is beginning to get better as even with the best players in the NBA, the end scores of games are closer and it isn’t as obvious as to who will win the game. 

Players like Victor Wembanyama are an example of how rapidly other countries are improving their skills with him leading Team Serbia to a silver medal with 15 points per game (ppg), 9 rebounds, and 3 assists at the age of 20. This situation has also started inside the USA as of last year the NBA 27% of players were international which is a mounting expansion in comparison to the 5% of international players in the league back in 1996. On top of this, the majority of the best players in the NBA aren’t even from America such as Nikola Jokić who is from Serbia, Shai Gilgeous Alexander who is from Canada, and Giannis Antetokounmpo who is from Greece. 

The dominance of Team USA, once seemingly invincible, now faces a more challenging field. In the next four years, it is unknown who will be playing for this team as the main leaders are most likely going to be retiring like Lebron James who is 39, Stephen Curry who is 36, and Kevin Durant who is 35 years old. Although there are still many stars that can rise to the stage, there are also many talented foreign players who are going to represent their respective countries. Coaches such as Steve Kerr are also beginning to realize this shift in dynamic after the loss to Germany during the FIBA World Cup he stated “This is not 1992 anymore.” The 1992 “Dream Team” is viewed as one of the best basketball teams ever assembled because they weren’t just the best players in the USA, but in the entire world as well. This led to them being very successful as in their first game of group play, they completely blew out their opponent 116 to 48 points. They would eventually be undefeated and win gold, but times have clearly changed