The expectation for any Team USA fielded in the world of basketball will always be a gold medal or bust. This comes largely because the nation hosts the top league in the globe, the NBA. But, the country has failed to earn a top finish in the FIBA World Cup for over a decade. Fans were disappointed to learn that their favorite American NBA players, Anthony Edwards, and Brandon Ingram among others could not earn huge victories. JJ Redick may have just found the answer. He discussed how hard it is to finish at the podium in these international events, via The Old Man and The Three.

Fighting for a medal, let alone winning the FIBA World Cup for your nation, is a tall task to accomplish. JJ Redick posits that the conversations regarding Team USA's underwhelming run are getting out of hand, “Ask [Dwyane Wade] if '08 was easy. Ask [Chris Paul] if '12 was easy. Ask [Devin Booker] if '21— It's not easy at this level to win gold. I think we need to reframe the entire conversation.”

Additionally, Reddick pointed out how terrible the discourse was throughout the duration of the FIBA World Cup, “We need to stop with the FIBA and NBA, ‘Oh he's got exposed.' Fine. He got exposed in FIBA. It doesn't mean Brandon Ingram isn't an All-NBA player.”

However, there's ample time to prepare for the next international competition. Furthermore, the top talents in the league like LeBron James and Stephen Curry want to play. Will a star-studded Team USA squad steamroll through international competition during the 2024 Olympics? Will the FIBA World Cup slump continue?