I totally agree with Kurt – it seems like your analysis relies on just the USA not sending nba players (because NO country sends pro boxers or mlb players – in fact, that is why they got rid of baseball, because it is not a representation of the best in the world).

In any case, Kobe was apparently the most popular non-chinese athelete in the games, so why take that away? It seems like the analysis relies on old stereotypes of US basketball, something this team did not have.

Did you watch Sarunas Jasikevicius bark and glare at his team? Or lInas Kleza nodding his head when hit the dagger against Argetina? Or the Spanish team throw a towel on the court in the gold medal game (or even the Spanish team’s ad?) If the US team had done any of those things they would have been lambasted constantly.

This US team had genuine enthusiasm and not a single player complaining about playing time (It was awesome to see Redd and Boozer cheering so much). I actually thought they came together as a team, and that was amazing to watch. And it helped they played a legitimately good team – and let me poin out, Spain had significantly more NBA players than any other country, and since their only two losses came to the US, you can make the case that the gap between Spain and the rest of the world was as significant as the US and the rest of the world (and I don’t think that is a very large gap, imho), but that won’t lead to nearly as much vitriol.

If Jermaine O’Neal comes to camp healthy, Toronto is going to be very tough in the East.

The biggest thing I take from these games is an increased passion for the game of basketball. I thank the Chinese for putting on a great game, the NBA for helping to make basketball a global game, and Team USA for playing with such passion and unbridled joy that made me proud to be an American and root for my guys.

Can’t wait for the Lakers season to start!!!

Most of the teams had NBA players on their rosters. Basketball is more popular here than a lot of the world and that means that more talent is cultivated here. That is changing and it is already leaps and bounds more competitive than the Dream Team days. Also, I don’t know if we were watching different games, but I thought Spain was very competitive.

I don’t even understand your complaints about Kobe. From what I could see, he was one of the more accessible stars on the team. Your assumption that he was “fake” is based purely on the same vindictive agenda you had in your post.

I personally loved it when he hushed everyone after his 4 point play. Spain had been bitching the entire game and throwing towels out onto the court. They were being extremely poor sportsman, and they needed to be brought back down to Earth.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-182/Team-USA–Yes–We-re-Drug-Tested.html

“I think they took this tournament very seriously, they were very hungry. They gave a better feeling of a team; it wasn’t so much individual stuff, individual talent.”
– Pau Gasol

Also, as to why we back USA basketball (well, except for the couple of Europeans who are regulars here): We are basketball fans. We are Americans. We wanted to see good basketball and see our country win. What did you expect?

If the Lakers win the Championship every year I would stop caring about basketball. The US softball team won every olympics by a landslide and got the sport kicked out, and then proceeded to lose their dominance. The Olympics is not suppossed viewed correctly in America the greatest stories arent the people who are suppossed to win winning, its about sportsmanship, exchanging of cultures, passions and overachieving. The US basketball thing with pros was only added because of the cold war B.S. there is no more USSR and no damn need to keep sending pros, especially ones that embarrass themselves and are nation by acting like thugs and morons. It was good to see the fans turn on them.Kobe was an embarrasment as a Laker fan he is so fake, and I wish Pau had punched him in the ear.