Team USA's shot at taking home the gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup is over after losing in the semifinals to Germany.

While Team USA did bounce back from its loss to Lithuania with a win over Italy, it failed to reach the final game for the second consecutive World Cup. The Americans kept it close but couldn’t pull it out in the end in one of the program's worst-ever showings on defense.

Stephen A. Smith joined the chorus of people backing the comments made by American track-and-field star Noah Lyles, who went on a now-famous tirade blasting the fact that the NBA Finals boasts the label of “world championship” in basketball. Smith once ridiculed Lyles for his take but now sees his point of view.

“That’s glaring. And it gives credence to Noah Lyles, Boris Kodjoe and others who have basically said this isn’t the world championship when they win the NBA championship — it's the NBA championship, it's not the world. International competition is different and the USA gets exposed because their lack of depth, their lack of cohesiveness, et cetera, et cetera, compared to some of these other teams from some of these other nations speaks volumes. And this is just the latest experience of it, period.”

The reason that the NBA Finals signifies the world champion to so many people is because it's the league with the best players in the world. The league may be located squarely in North America with only one team outside of the United States but it attracts players from everywhere. Thus, it represents basketball on a global stage, even if the teams are all from American cities (or one from Canada). Basketball is situated differently from sports like soccer, as the NBA has long been seen as the very best basketball league on Earth.

Of course, the World Cup and the Olympics offer a different environment for basketball. The style of play and rules are different. Wins and losses on those stages can be just as rewarding for some players as the Finals are. Even though Team USA didn’t send its very best players, it had ambitions of winning it all.

Team USA will have the chance to make it to the podium in the bronze medal match against Canada on Sunday as Germany and Serbia duke it out for the gold.