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Team USA lost its first game in nearly 13 years on Friday night. In the aftermath of its hard-fought defeat at the hands of Australia, though, the Americans are keeping their big-picture goal of a third consecutive gold medal at the FIBA World Cup in focus.
De facto Team USA captain Kemba Walker put his team's 98-88 exhibition loss to the Boomers in proper perspective on Saturday, insisting he and his teammates are far more concerned with getting better on a daily basis than losing a meaningless game in hostile territory.
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“They say Team USA doesn’t lose, I get it, they haven’t lost in a very long time, which I understand, but it happens,” the Boston Celtics point guard said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Teams lose. We are just going to take this loss and build from it, that’s all we can do is continue to try our best to get better.
“The real thing doesn’t start until China, so we’ve got one more game. We’re going to head to Sydney and focus on Canada and from that point out the real thing starts. That’s all we are worried about, just continuing to get better, continuing to learn each other.”
Walker, by the way, was hardly the cause of the Americans' stunning defeat. He had a team-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting, continuing his strong play from Team USA's victory over Australia in the first matchup of their two-game exhibition earlier this week. Walker did have a hand in Team USA's late-game defensive struggles, though, serving as the primary defender on San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills as he caught fire late.
The Americans' final exhibition before official FIBA competition will come on Monday in Sydney against Canada. The World Cup tips off on August 31 in China.
