France losing to Georgia in the quarterfinals of EuroBasket with a roster full of NBA/high level Euroleague players is another reminder to folks to stop penciling them in as an automatic gold medal contender. Let's see them have repeated success at international tournaments without the advantage of playing at home.
I like how you left out the fact Wemby didn't play (you know the cat who'll arguably be the best player in the world in LA28).
Nobody should be penciling any nation in as a gold medal contender at this stage. We're none the wiser as to what form and what make-up the teams will be. The entire point surrounding our campaign is the uncertainty around who will be leading us - not our depth or surrounding pieces. There'll be no KD; there'll be no Steph chucking up prayers to save us. I don't know why that point has to be stressed continually. Resume/history don't mean shyt if we're going to be led by players who're seen as inferior to their competition.
If Ant just so happens to be
the guy we center the '28 squad around and he keeps coming up short in the playoffs, let's see if everyone still ends up having the same belief in someone who they'll no doubt be shytting on every postseason between now and then.
More to the point here - anything can happen in these one-elimination games, especially with 3-pt variance. A greater pool of talent don't mean shyt if everyone just happens to be cold in
one game.