Is international Basketball a joke?

Question

With the Olympics starting soon, I would expect the Yankees to easily win the Gold medal. When you think about it, Basketball is an American game and immersed in US culture.

But when it comes to the rest of the world, Basketball is a lower level community sport. Kids in other countries all want to play Football. Football is the biggest game in the world so that is natural.

But Basketball is a complete joke. The USA will dominate. Other countries don't concentrate their efforts on Basketball, so it becomes a joke.

The yanks will flog everybody else, and the rest of the world won't care.

You know it makes sense.

Answer 1

man you are an idiot.

sure its less important to play in europe and south america behind fagball but theyre still good

even the "yankees" will admit that the usa will not be a shoe in for the gold.

with the likes of argentina being a hurdle the last couple of tournaments

team usa have improved and are the favourites, rightfully so but anything can happen

Answer 2

it's called 04 olympics

Answer 3

You haven't been paying attention-the NBA has a ton of talented foreign players and there are some excellent foreign teams. Basketball has become extremely popular and many foreign teams are very good. With Coach K and a bunch of great NBA players-the USA might be a slight favorite-it won't be a cake-walk.

Answer 4

That's how it was 10 years ago and all the years before that. But now things have changed, other countries now are interested in basketball. Look at all the players from other countries in the NBA; Manu Ginobli, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, etc. Basketball is now an international sport.

Answer 5

Maybe you havn't watched Olympic basketball since the original Dream Team, friendo, but the rest of the world has caught up with the good ole USA in Basketball. Who won the last Gold Medal in BBall? Hmm?

You know, I like international rules basketball. I think the NBA is such a "me me me" thing fueled by the "him him him" fanatics who idolize individual performance. It's no surprise to me that team oriented international teams are giving the ball hogging Team USA squads serious runs.

Basketball is catching on. World wide. It's a good team sport. But if running around a large grassy meadows in short colorful shorts with other skinny white european metrosexuals trying to playfully kick you in the shins is YOUR thing....Buddy, I say power to YOU.

Answer 6

Bullshit. The USA can't expect to dominate anymore. To win in Beijing they will have to work hard, they will have to give 110%. The Europeans are good. Euro league rules are very similar to international. They are used to it.

They didn't win in 2004. Argentina did.

In the 2006 World Championships Team USA was knocked out by Greece.

America should win but it isn't guaranteed.

Answer 7

GO TO THE FTBL SECTION AND STOP HARRASING Us!!!

the second part makes sense, i mean the Usa ant the rest of the world

but not really cuz peeps from the US play for ur country

so u can LEAVE and stop HARRASING US

Answer 8

Well International basketball seemed to have us beaten in 2004.

They aren't a joke and we cannot count them out unless we'd like to repeat our last performance.

Answer 9

It can't be too much of a joke, or the US wouldn't have lost the last too international tournaments (04 Olympics; 06 FIBA World Championship) to the likes of Greece and Argentina.

I would say basketball has become the number one sport in, coincidentally, the host country of the Olympics, China. I'd agree that futbol is number one in every country, with a few exceptions (Basketball in China, football in the US, baseball in the Bermuda islands, hockey in Canada, rugby in Australia, etc). But basketball is increasing more than any sport in the international community overall. That's evident this NBA off-season, with players bolting to Europe seemingly every other day.

So no, international basketball is no longer a joke. This isn't 1992 anymore.

Answer 10

You must be kidding, right?

The Americans haven't dominated on the world stage since the '90's. They didn't win in the last Olympics, and they have no major international sucess in the past eight years.

The last major international tournament, the 2006 FIBA world championships were won by Spain. The US team didn't even make the final.

Prior to that were the '04 Olympics, won by Argentina. Again, the US team didn't make the final.

Before the '04 Olympics was the '02 FIBA world championships, won by Yugoslavia over Argentina. Guess who wasn't in the final - yup, the US.

So, for every major international championship / Olympics since 2000, the US haven't even been in the gold medal game, much less won the title.

The US team is unquestionably a force to be reckoned with, but to say that they will "flog everybody else" and that the rest of the world won't care is as uninformed as it is ignorant of recent US international basketball failures.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching the US play - they are far and away my favourite team, but maybe a little bit less arrogance and a little bit more respect for the rest of the world would suit the US (team and fans) well.