Team USA Articles - Page 45

After a rough start to their quarterfinal matchup with Argentina, Team USA ran away with a 105-78 victory thanks to a huge performance from Kevin Durant and the dance moves of DeMarcus Cousins. Durant was red-hot from outside, scoring 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Cousins wasn’t too shabby himself, adding 15 […]

When you look strictly at the numbers, Kevin Durant has been a force for Team USA in the Rio Olympics. He leads the team in points, he’s shooting 60 percent from the field, and he’s managed an incredible 61 percent on three-pointers. However, if you’ve watched the games, you’ve probably wondered why Durant hasn’t taken […]

Tyson Chandler knows what it’s like playing for his country, and the pressures that come along with it. Chandler won a FIBA World Championship in 2010 and a gold medal at the London Olympics with Team USA in 2012. Other than the Final against Spain, the latter squad completely rolled through the competition. That hasn’t […]

It’s pretty simple, according to Klay Thompson. The starting shooting guard for Team USA basketball was pretty blunt when asked about the team and it’s recent struggles. Via NBA.com: “We control our own destiny,” Thompson said. “We just got to trust each other on both sides of the ball. If we do that and play […]

Charles Barkley may have a point. Appearing on The Brad Cesmat Show Monday, Barkley was asked about Team USA basketball’s recent struggles. The U.S. beat Australia by 10 and then only beat Serbia and France by three points each. Barkley pointed to the construction of the roster as to why Team USA hasn’t been more […]

DeMarcus Cousins and Brittney Griner have been having some fun in Rio. Griner, the starting center for the U.S. women’s basketball team, said last week that she would love to get a chance to play Cousins in one-on-one. Cousins was asked about those comments and it looked like he’s not interested in the challenge. Brittney […]

Team USA is about to face Argentina, their 2004 tormentors, in today’s Olympic quarterfinal game. But prior to that, competing teams got a much-deserved, albeit short, break before the knockout stage. For his part, Carmelo Anthony took advantage of the time to get to know the city in a deeper way. The United States’ Olympic […]

Team USA came into the Rio Olympics basketball tournament as the heavy favorites to win it all, but have struggled as of late. Team USA certainly has the most talented team but their chemistry has been put to the test. Despite their recent struggles, Team USA’s odds at winning the gold medal have still remained […]

A staple of past Team USA squads the previous two Olympics, Chris Paul, decided to forego participating in this year’s Rio Olympics. However, you can be certain that he has been keeping up with what is going on. Yesterday, Paul was at the Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club as part of a donation for his […]

Brazil is known for many things, including dominating international men’s soccer competition for many years. The Brazilian men’s soccer team’s success has been fueled by some absolute soccer legends, such as Ronaldo. That former soccer great is in Rio to take in the Olympics, and recently ran into Team USA basketball’s Paul George at an […]

It only gets tougher from here on out. The United States has been challenged in its last three games of group play at the Rio Olympics. After beating Australia by 10, it only beat Serbia and France by three points in each of those wins. Team USA still finished group play undefeated and the top seed […]

The most decorated United States Olympics basketball player ever found himself being decorated and honored in a cool way this week in Rio. While walking through the favelas of Rio, Carmelo Anthony encountered a graffiti artist painting a mural of Anthony himself. Anthony went to Snapchat to tell the story. The Knicks superstar really appreciated the […]

Stephen A. Smith isn’t normally one to back down from a hot take. In fact, that’s how he makes a living. Smith was forced into an apology yesterday after hearing some clarification from Carmelo Anthony regarding certain comments he made earlier in the week. It all started with Anthony being quoted saying this by ESPN’s […]

Team USA had the day off, and took some well-deserved time away from the cruise ship to focus on something other than basketball. They made the best of the day by hanging in Copacabana beach drinking coconut juice, and playing a few rounds of volleyball. Behind-the-scenes with @USABasketball playing pickup beach volleyball in Rio.https://t.co/m6k6neFUUV — The Players' Tribune […]

It’s really sad, but America doesn’t really care about Olympic basketball unless the thought of losing comes into play. Ominous vibes sent up north from U.S. Men’s National Basketball down in Rio 2016 after the team secured the group’s top seed with a three-point victory over the Tony Parker-less French. After skimming past the last […]

The Olympics is home to the best of the best in different sports. In basketball, that description has only applied to the United States, but that was more than 20 years back. Today, the best players are coming from all corners of the globe. Whether it’s from down under, up north, or whatnot, the competition […]

Team USA’s 5-0 record in group play at the Rio Olympics is far from a surprise. The slim margins of victory, though, have been. Indiana Pacers star Paul George believes he knows a big part of the problem. While sliding by competition that many critics didn’t believe would challenge the Americans, George has identified a […]

Has the world caught up with the United States in basketball? Never mind that LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis sat out this year’s Olympics. Part of the recognition on a country’s strength involves the players’ commitments because it also affects the outcome of a tournament. The past three games for Team […]

As always, Tony Parker has been splendid for the French national team. So far in this year’s Olympics, the San Antonio Spurs guard has averaged 13.5 points and 3.8 assists. However, in France’s big game against Team USA tonight, Parker, curiously, did not see action. In a tweet by ESPN’s Marc Stein, his status was […]

The basketball story of the summer, besides the Rio Olympics, has certainly been Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors. Of course, with Team USA competing at the Olympics, the two storylines were bound to overlap. Team USA’s legendary head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, weighed in on Durant’s big free […]

Team USA looked good for most of their final Olympic pool play game, although France stormed back in the final minutes, only losing 100-97. One of the better plays of the game combined the talents of Draymond Green and DeAndre Jordan in the third quarter. The Warriors power forward fed the Clippers center for a […]

The United States men’s basketball team is the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, but the team has struggled mightily in their pool play games against Serbia and Australia. Multiple players, including DeAndre Jordan and Paul George, have already given their perspective on what has been going wrong. Now, DeMarcus […]

DeMarcus Cousins celebrated his birthday on Saturday in Rio with a message for his Olympic teammate Draymond Green. Usually the birthday boy would receive a congratulatory message, but in this case Cousins actually dishes out a burn to the Warriors power forward. When Green laughs at the Kings center, Boogie shoots back: “Why you ugly […]

Carmelo Anthony has been the man for the Americans, racking up one record after another in Olympic basketball for the United States. Without a doubt, he is now the most decorated Olympian in USA basketball history, and will further cement that fact if they win the Gold medal in Rio. Anthony released some comments a […]

As expected, Team USA hasn’t lost a game so far in the Rio Olympics. But surprisingly, they have been served with a good scare, not once, but twice. The games against Australia and Serbia were eye openers to the rest of the competition. The United States can be defeated, and although it’s still a very […]

Team USA had another scare in their last game against a fundamentally sound Serbian squad led by point guard Milos Teodosic and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. The final score was 94-91 and it was the most competitive game for the Americans in a very long time. For some reasons, the aura of invincibility is […]

The Serbian national basketball team gave Team USA all they could handle in Wednesday’s Olympic matchup, narrowly falling to the Americans 94-91. Miloš Teodosić provided the play of the game a beautiful no-look, over-his-head dish. He kicked it out to his teammate for a wide open three-point attempt. Down by just five points near the […]

Team USA escaped with a narrow three-point victory over Serbia in their Rio Olympics group stage game on Wednesday. In the game prior to that, they came back to beat a strong Australia team by 10 points despite being down for much of the game. Following the 94-91 victory over Serbia, Paul George spoke on […]

Kevin Durant is one of the NBA’s modern superstars, and with that comes fans from around thew world. Durant, now competing with Team USA at the Rio Olympics, has come face to face with one of his biggest Australian fans, swimmer Kyle Chalmers. When Chalmers ran into Durant Wednesday night, he almost lost his cool […]

With Team USA getting two straight scares in the Olympics, questions arise on the team’s leadership on the floor, mainly the point guard play. It’s scary to think that the defending Gold medalists can go all the way by virtue of their individual talent alone. Their two point guards in Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry […]

It’s not a surprise that NBA players have to adjust to FIBA officiating, and it’s evident once again playing in the Rio Olympics. DeMarcus Cousins fouled out Monday against Venezuela and was just as quick to get into foul trouble against Australia two days prior. Klay Thompson and Paul George also followed suit against the Boomers in the […]

Team USA might be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, but the gap is slowly getting smaller. Other countries are starting to make significant strides, despite having only a few NBA players, by proving to the rest of the world how team play makes a difference. In his recent article for Bleacher […]

Bogdan Bogdanović, Team Serbia’s young shooting guard, had a huge moment at the conclusion of their battle between the stacked Team USA. After a valiant comeback effort in the final minutes of the game, Bogdanović has one last opportunity to save his team from a loss. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way he may have wanted. […]

DeMarcus Cousins is proving to the world why he deserves to represent the United States this Olympic Games. The Kings point guard opened up tonight lead to an 8-0 lead with a turn-around dribble play immediately after receiving a pass. The Serbian defender was was simply out played by Cousins’ maneuver. https://vine.co/v/5bl9Lj7OUjP Although it seems the […]

Prior to the 2008 Olympics, playing for flag wasn’t highly regarded by NBA players. The lack of commitment and a holistic program resulted in a rude awakening for the United States. It sent them a message that the rest of the world was already catching up. No more 30-point trashings with little effort. The “Redeem […]

Andrew Bogut starting for the Australian Boomers in this summer’s 2016 Rio Olympics has been one of reasons they’ve been undefeated leading up to this week’s marquee game against Team USA. Averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.3 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game, Bogut is giving more to his team than expected […]

Team USA was put to a test by a feisty Australian team during their last game at the Olympics in Rio. It was a tough battle for both teams as the Aussies’ grit clashed with the Americans’ talent all the way till the closing minutes. The reigning Gold medalists needed the heroics of none other […]

Going into the second half of the U.S. and Australia game on Wednesday, the Boomers had a 5 point lead. Coach Andrej Lemanis wanted to limit playing time for the starters, as well as only use half of his playbook, and even to hold back according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. How confident is Australia that […]

Carmelo Anthony may not have any rings like most NBA greats, but his prowess in the game has certainly shined throughout his career. Now the all-time leading scorer for Team USA, the Knicks small forward reflects on his potential to further solidify his legacy with a third gold medal. “Most athletes don’t have an opportunity […]