Many people think the international basketball teams are getting better. The NBA has been making a grand effort to make basketball more of an international sport. They not only host preseason games in other countries, they’re also drafting and signing more international players. When the Olympics comes around, many of those players go and play for their country, thus improving the competition. For example, Spain has been a major contender against the U.S., as well as France and Australia is showing vast improvement. But Team USA beat Serbia in the 2016 men’s basketball Olympic Finals in a very lopsided game where the final score was 96-66. Speaking after the U.S. team won a third straight gold medal, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said other countries need to find a way to be more competitive.
“I’m all for raising the bar for global basketball,” Colangelo said Sunday, according to USA Today Sports. “The more interest in basketball on all levels, I’m for. I’m a lifer in the game. I love the game. Basketball is the No. 2 sport in the world, [but] we just need to see these other countries get their acts together and become more competitive.”
The Americans went undefeated throughout the Olympic tournament, but several games were closer than expected, including a six-point win over Spain in the semifinals and three-point victories over France and Serbia in pool play.
“I’m not going to be making excuses for anyone about our [dominance],” Colangelo said. “Someone said to me [after the game], one of the officials said to me, ‘You know next time you play, you ought to play with four.’ And I said, ‘No, maybe the other teams better get their act together and compete.'”
