There is plenty of discussion abound about Team USA after social media got wind of the senior team losing to the Select Team in multiple scrimmages. After all, with the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup — which will be hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia — set to begin in just three weeks, USA men's basketball team doesn't have a lot of time to prepare.

Furthermore, with Team USA falling to 7th-place in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, there's a sense that this upcoming tournament holds just a bit more weight than the typical pride and prestige that comes with a gold medal. Although the rise in international talent has been notable, in a nation with what's been deemed the best basketball league in the world, failing to get a first-place finish is one thing. But failing to medal at all, let alone tumbling all the way down to 7th-place is all but blasphemous.

Unfortunately for Team USA, which will be led by the likes of New Orleans Pelicans veteran star Brandon Ingram and Minnesota Timberwolves rising star Anthony Edwards, there are a couple of particularly notable hurdles that they have to clear on their road to redemption.

1…2…Team USA is coming for you?

To start, as none of the players on Team USA's roster have ever played for the national team on the senior level, “that makes this the United States’ first National Team comprised of NBA players that doesn’t have any Senior-level experience” (h/t John Schuhmann of NBA.com).

“This is also the first of the 18 U.S. National Teams comprised of NBA players that didn’t have a single player that was selected to an All-NBA team the season prior,” Schuhmann adds. “Five of them – Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jaren Jackson Jr. – received All-NBA votes this year, but none of them came close to making the third team.”

Ignorance is not bliss, in basketball

Despite the popularity of the quote of ignorance being bliss, and the nugget of truth ingrained in the peace that comes with not knowing, that philosophy does not apply to playing basketball.

While these men have been playing basketball for most of their lives and have reached a height in their field that few have ever accomplished, the fact remains that experience is often essential in their line of work. So, as it relates to Team USA having a roster full of players that never played for the Senior Team before? That is a bit concerning, though it's certainly far from insurmountable.

Young, with an average age of 25.2 years old, Team USA will go against several players, teams and coaches with far more experience than them. As a result, even if they may have the upper hand in talent or skill, their opponents may be able to give them trouble on either end with their schematics, chemistry, basketball IQ, or technical expertise.

Kevin Durant isn't walking through that door

Another problem that faces Team USA is the fact that none of their players have yet been deemed to be good enough to be considered an All-NBA player. While this obviously doesn't mean that they don't have a roster full of high-level players, it does mean that they don't necessarily have the NBA's cream of the crop in Team USA jerseys, and that a balanced approach may be more practical than hoping for any particular player to excel individually game-by-game.

Future Hall of Famers may very well be on the roster. Just not ones that were surefire Hall of Famers like Kevin Durant, who averaged 22.8 points per game (more than double the next highest average) for Team USA on their way to winning a gold medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.