Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

FROM THE LYONS’ DEN IN BOSTON – Congratulations are in order to USA Basketball’s Men’s and Women’s (5×5) Olympic teams for their haul of 24 gold medals at the recently concluded Summer Olympic Games. Two of those 24 medals are counted in the stupendously ridiculous medal standings that every newspaper and TV station publish on a daily basis. More on that later.

The men’s and women’s team worked (very) hard and earned their medals as the competitors in the 20214 basketball tournaments were as deep and talented as we’ve ever seen, although the men’s side has had tough comp since 2000. Remember, it’s no longer about the number of players with NBA contracts on a roster. The basketball nations of the world come to play, as evidenced by Canada, Germany, (the reigning World Cup champions), Greece and South Sudan. Exhibit 1-A was a July 27 game featuring Greece vs Canada won by our neighbors to ‘Da North, (86-79). In that contest, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) got his first taste of Olympic basketball and scored 34 points. Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) countered with 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Both teams fared well, but lost in the quarter-finals (medal round). Much of their rosters wee non-NBA players.

On the men’s side, USA Basketball’s staff and its de facto team GM, Grant Hill, will have their hands filled going forward. The assignment is daunting and that’s a great thing.

Much of the roster make-up conversation has pointed to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. While that makes for easy column inches right after the 2024 Games, there is far more need for concern on the roster for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar from 27 August to 12 September 2027 (notice the European style of date-listing?)

The Worlds are a grueling 32-team tournament. Looking back at 2023, the USA lost to Germany 113-111 in the semifinals and that meant the United States failed to medal at consecutive World Cups for the first time since 1967 and 1970. In global basketball at the senior team level, the USA’s last team to lose three games in a major tournament was the 2004 Olympic team.

While many pundits looked at the potential roster for the 2028 Olympics, the focus should be on the roster composition at the 2027 Worlds which can lead to continuity for a team headed to Los Angeles a year later.

For the sake of sanity, let’s figure the elder statesman who excelled in Paris and Lille this summer, take a pass at playing for the USA again. That will put Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Lebron James in the stands as opposed to on the court. Let’s assume Kawhi Leonard is on AARP’s mailing list by then as well. And, lastly, in the summer of 2027, no one has any idea if Joel Embiid will be healthy or not considering his history of injuries and lack of conditioning. He’ll be 33 in March of 2027.

On the other side of the coin, here’s a list of players from the 2024 roster who will be locks if healthy and willing to dedicate their 2027 and ‘28 summers to USA Basketball.

• Bam Adebayo
• Devin Booker
• Anthony Edwards
• Tyrese Halliburton (PG)
• Jrue Holiday
• Jayson Tatum
• Derrick White (PG)

That leaves another five roster spots to select for the 2027 World Cup team, again assuming all listed are volunteering to play. Here are the no-brainers:

• Jalen Brown
• Jalen Brunson (PG)

Here are the three others that make the most sense to round out the roster:

• Cooper Flagg (let the long-range planning begin) – (also, limited minutes)
• Chet Holmgren
• Anthony Davis (who will be 34) (they need another rebounder)

To be considered for sure: Paolo Banchero (Orlando), Jalen Duren (Detroit), Josh Hart (New York), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami), and Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia).

Of course, there are dozens of other players who deserve mention but the players above (noting the three necessary point guards who need to work for USA Basketball as pass first/run the offense/run the break PGs – old school types. The list also assumes the Boston Celtics players will let bygones be bygones in respect to USAB head coach Steve Kerr’s snub of Tatum this summer with an expected coaching change to come within the next two years … (Do you think Grant Hill can talk Coach Mike Krzyzewski to return for an encore)?

Figuring Krzyzewski will remain in his much-deserved retirement, it will be a toss-up between two great coaches in Tyronn Lue of the LA Clippers and Miami’s Eric Spoelstra for the head spot heading into 2026-27.

Here’s my Dream Coaching Staff for USA Basketball:

Head Coach: Pat Riley

Assistant Coaches: Mike Krzyzewski, Mike D’Antoni, Bob McKillop.

Select Team Coaches: Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Izzo, Doc Rivers

THE MEDAL STANDINGS: Let’s get this out there and straight as an arrow, the Olympic Medal Standings are RIDICULOUS. There are dozens of reasons, but here’s just a few:

• It’s not about the athletes who medal
• It is ALL ABOUT the competitions, the honor of being an Olympian
• Having Medal standings and using them so prominently SENDS the WRONG MESSAGE to the youth of the world
• The jingoistic “Rah, Rah” for the USA leading the medal standings in a tête-à-tête vs. China or Russia or Japan or Australia or Great Britain is a little too much as the USA sends far more athletes and the sports (for the most part) have the wherewithal to send athletes to worldwide competitions and train with the highest levels of equipment, venues, nutrition, wellness and weight training, travel and overall budgets.
• Lastly, the phrases, “Settling for the Silver” or “Settling for the Bronze” just burn me up.
• Grow up