Steve Kerr and co. ended Team USA’s UNBELIEVABLE 29-year streak with horrendous FIBA World Cup display

Seasoned head coach Steve Kerr breaks the wrong type of record with Team USA.

Steve Kerr and co. ended Team USA’s UNBELIEVABLE 29-year streak with horrendous FIBA World Cup display

Steve Kerr (Credits: ESPN)

The FIBA World Cup concluded recently with the Germans being crowned the victors, taking home the first-place medal. The battle for third place between Canada and the USA was entertaining, to say the least. The game went into overtime due to a clutch three-pointer made by Mikal Bridges off a missed free throw. Dillon Brooks was the star of the show, dropping an enormous 39 points to help seal the victory.

The USA has placed 4th in the FIBA World Cup. They broke an almost three-decade-long record, and not in a good way. The Canadians, on the other hand, made history by securing their first-ever medal in the World Cup with the bronze. Brooks made history with his 39 points, breaking a 70-year-old record to become the highest-scoring single game played by a Canadian. His co-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points, with RJ Barrett dishing out 23. Team USA was led by Anthony Edwards with 24 points, while Austin Reaves added 23 points off the bench.

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USA also set a record with Kerr as head coach; this is the first time since 1994 that Team USA has failed to win medals in two consecutive FIBA World Cups.

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At one point, the USA had a chokehold on international basketball, but with the advent of global reach for the league, more and more countries got exposed to the NBA, with a more significant number of players from around the world aspiring to one day make it there.

It looks like the rest of the world has finally caught up with the USA, as this is the first time the team has gone back-to-back without taking home the gold. The NBA seems to be slowly getting dominated by international players, as the last five MVP trophies have gone to players of foreign nationality.

Also read: “F**k Team USA for giving this BOZO ammunition” – Dillon Brooks bullishly compares himself to Kobe Bryant, leaves NBA fans in disarray

What is Team USA’s history at the FIBA World Cup?

Can Team Usa win gold medal at world cup
Team USA (via NBA.com)

As the USA crashes out of the World Cup, going home without placing, it seems fitting to look back at the country’s history with the tournament. The USA’s fall from glory is sad to see, as the country had an impregnable grip on the tournament at one point in time and seemed to be unstoppable as soon as NBA players started to get called in to represent the United States.

It was the first time since 1963–1970 that Team USA failed to win a medal in consecutive FIBA World Cup tournaments. During that period, they finished fourth in 1963 and 1967 and fifth in 1970 across three consecutive championships. Dating back to 1950, Team USA has won a gold medal in the FIBA World Cup on five separate occasions. Their first win came in 1954, just their second time entering the tournament. They were runner-ups in 1982 before claiming the gold in 1986.

The team won gold again in 1994. The last two medals the United States has secured came back in 2010 and 2014, with the dominant stars of today leading the fray. Included in the future Hall of Fame roster were players like Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry. The USA, at the very least, remains the winningest team in FIBA, tied with Serbia with a total of five golds. This title would’ve been in jeopardy, considering Serbia was in the finals, but Germany managed to defeat them.

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