# U.S. Men's Basketball gets ass handed to them by Puerto Rico. How cool is that? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976 "2004-08-15T19:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/41 "2004-08-17T16:11:59Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Yeah, yeah, i’ll probably be eating my words in a week or so. > > The US team will probably go undefeated from here on, and win the gold medal. > . Considering that Puerto Ricans are themselves U.S. nationals, who can come and go, immigrate, and work in the U.S. with zero fuss or bother, it’s not exactly what I would call the sweetest of revenge. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/42 "2004-08-17T16:44:54Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Considering that Puerto Ricans are themselves U.S. nationals, who can come and go, immigrate, and work in the U.S. with zero fuss or bother, it’s not exactly what I would call the sweetest of revenge. Well, yes, BUT, the point _should be_ that it’s not about a nation/nation PR vs. USA issue(\*), but about what happens when the entity known as “USA Basketball” believes it can send a slapped-together clusterf\*\*k of whoever bothers showing up. So it could have just as well been New Zealand, had the slots been assigned differently. The _REAL_ Dream Team, 1992-96, was another story – those guys not only included several all-time-greatests, but you could see they WANTED to make their mark and prove something, even though they did not need to. (\*You bet I **won’t** be happy at all if PUR is eliminated with a 1-4 record; we’re there to prove _WE are GOOD_, not to prove Team-USA were hungover Sunday) ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/43 "2004-08-17T17:06:44Z")
Can someone explain to me why our Olympic basketball team can be made up entirely from highly-paid primadonnas [read: NBA players] but that, say, an American ice skater wouldn’t be allowed on our Olympic team if they skated for the Ice Capades? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/44 "2004-08-17T17:09:43Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Can someone explain to me why our Olympic basketball team can be made up entirely from highly-paid primadonnas [read: NBA players] but that, say, an American ice skater wouldn’t be allowed on our Olympic team if they skated for the Ice Capades? Are you aure this is true? Or is it simply that the Ice Capades skaters don’t enter the required qualifying tournaments to get to the Olympics? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/45 "2004-08-17T17:22:52Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Can someone explain to me why our Olympic basketball team can be made up entirely from highly-paid primadonnas [read: NBA players] but that, say, an American ice skater wouldn’t be allowed on our Olympic team if they skated for the Ice Capades? I have an answer that is so un-PC, so nasty and so uncalled for that I have decided to keep it to myself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/46 "2004-08-17T17:26:27Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Baseball? The World Series will always be bigger. Ditch it. > > Basketball? Once again, the NBA championship is far more prestigious. I don’t think you’ve thought your New Olympics plan quite through all the way. You’d drop two sports from the roster despite the fact that 99% of the world’s countries are ineligible to play in the “more prestigious” event? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/47 "2004-08-17T18:51:11Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Are you aure this is true? > > Or is it simply that the Ice Capades skaters don’t enter the required qualifying tournaments to get to the Olympics? This seems to match my rather uninformed view: [cite](http://www.iceskate.net/olympics.html): “There are two classes of figure skaters; Olympic eligible (the old “amateur” status) and not Olympic eligible (professionals). Olympic eligible skaters are restricted to skating in events that are sanctioned by their federation and/or the International Skating Union.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/48 "2004-08-18T03:38:19Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I don’t think you’ve thought your New Olympics plan quite through all the way. You’d drop two sports from the roster despite the fact that 99% of the world’s countries are ineligible to play in the “more prestigious” event? “Ineligible”??? What are you talking about? The NBA is FILLED with players from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. And major league baseball has dozens, maybe hundreds of top players from Japan, Korea, Central and South America. The idea that non-Americans aren’t “eligible” to participate in the NBA championship or in the World Series is absurd. Ask Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentinian Manu Ginobili who helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title two years ago. Ask former World Series Most Valuable Players like Livan Hernandez of Cuba, Mariano Rivera of Panama, or Jose Rijo of the Dominican Republic. Ask American League batting champ Ichiro Suzuki of Japan. The best of the best from all over the world are not only eligible to play baseball and basketball here, they’ve been DOING it for some time now. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/49 "2004-08-18T04:12:02Z")
Yes **astorian** , individual players have the oppurtunity to play in the most prestigious events, but I’ve never seen a team from China participate in the NBA _World_ Championships. That could be what **Endrew** is referring to. And a player from Puerto Rico may play for the Orlando Heat or the Utah Jazz, but the Puerto Rican basketball team will never meet the Lakers in June. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/50 "2004-08-18T04:34:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “Ineligible”??? What are you talking about? The NBA is FILLED with players from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. And major league baseball has dozens, maybe hundreds of top players from Japan, Korea, Central and South America. > > The idea that non-Americans aren’t “eligible” to participate in the NBA championship or in the World Series is absurd. Ask Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentinian Manu Ginobili who helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title two years ago. Ask former World Series Most Valuable Players like Livan Hernandez of Cuba, Mariano Rivera of Panama, or Jose Rijo of the Dominican Republic. Ask American League batting champ Ichiro Suzuki of Japan. > > The best of the best from all over the world are not only eligible to play baseball and basketball here, they’ve been DOING it for some time now. You seem to have missed one small point–for better or for worse, the Olympic format is one in which the competitors represent their own countries, as part of a national team. The chance to represent one’s country is something that many Olympians feel is a great honour, and cheering a national team is one of the things that many fans love about the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/51 "2004-08-18T04:40:24Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Yes **astorian** , individual players have the oppurtunity to play in the most prestigious events, but I’ve never seen a team from China participate in the NBA _World_ Championships. That’s exactly what I mean. Individual players can and do come from all over the world but baseball’s World Series teams can have a maximum of two countries competing. When “Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentinian Manu Ginobili…helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title two years ago” neither France nor Argentina receieved a trophy. Those NBA teams did. I’d love to see the look on Bud Selig’s face if the Japanese asked to compete in the playoffs this September. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/52 "2004-08-18T04:52:00Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I’d love to see the look on Bud Selig’s face if the Japanese asked to compete in the playoffs this September. I’m sure he’d shake in his shoes. There was a World Cup of Baseball proposed recently, and unfortunately I don’t think it’ll pan out. By the way, the ‘rejoicing at the basketball team’s failure’ angle still sucks. They are the most individually talented, but have only been playing together for a few weeks (compared to years for some of these teams). Are all of the international players competing after doing a long regular season? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/53 "2004-08-18T05:28:22Z")
The NBA championship is called just that. It is not called the “World Championship” and never was. The only American sport that claims that title is the “World Series” in baseball. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/54 "2004-08-18T13:20:42Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > The NBA championship is called just that. It is not called the “World Championship” and never was. The only American sport that claims that title is the “World Series” in baseball. That is true… it’s the US _sports press_ that started the usage of referring to the winners of the NBA championship/Super Bowl/Stanley Cup as “World Champions” **Marley23** yeah, schadenfreude should only go so far. But to answer the question, several of the countries involved did finish their pro seasons just in June. The critique is over the system of organizing national teams. There is often the impression in US media that the other teams are ongoing full-time “standing” outfits, but that was how the old _Soviet_ teams worked. Nowadays PUR works along the lines of a “National Guard” model – you play for your regular pro or collegiate team, but at the same time are part of a “selection” that gets called up periodically to international competition. Often there will be regional tournaments, exhibitions, goodwill tours, etc. while there is an NBA or NCAA season going on, where the big stars are elsewhere obligated. That’s when our coach will take the chance to use the rookie future stars that the teams can spare, to give them the chance to get used to it. _Then_ when the Big Tournament comes around, they call up the Big Guys and do a final cut. Contrast that with assembling a team in 2 weeks from whoever shows up. What’s impressive is how the astounding depth of numbers and quality in the USABasketball talent pool, allows that to result in a world-class national team. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/55 "2004-08-18T13:21:58Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Yes **astorian** , individual players have the oppurtunity to play in the most prestigious events, but I’ve never seen a team from China participate in the NBA _World_ Championships. That could be what **Endrew** is referring to. And a player from Puerto Rico may play for the Orlando Heat or the Utah Jazz, but the Puerto Rican basketball team will never meet the Lakers in June. Well, it’s not called the NBA _World_ Championship. It’s called the NBA Championship. > [@EnderW24](#): > > I’d love to see the look on Bud Selig’s face if the Japanese asked to compete in the playoffs this September. I’m sure he’d love it as long as they were willing to play all the games over here and didn’t want too much of a percentage of the revenue. That would be killer ratings in Japan and would generate better money than a lot of the smaller market teams that will be playing this year (Oakland, Minnesota, I’m looking at you). Although, I bet the team owner that lost his spot in the playoffs would be pretty pissed off. Of course, it was the Japanese that threw a wrench in a Baseball World Cup in 2005, so it doesn’t look like they’re too eager for international competition. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/56 "2004-08-18T15:48:27Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Personally, I never thought basketball should be an Olympic sport in the first place. As far as I’m concerned, the Olympics are SUPPOSED to represent the best of the world’s best, competing for the greatest prize in their sport. In my opinion, any sport that ALREADY has events more prestigious than the Olympics shouldn’t be part of the Olympics. > > Tennis? Wimbledon will always be far more prestigious. Drop it. > > Soccer? The World Cup is infinitely more important than the Olympics to any soccer fan. Dump it. > > Baseball? The World Series will always be bigger. Ditch it. > > Basketball? Once again, the NBA championship is far more prestigious. Most top pros would rather skip the Olympics- even the ones who actually show up for the Olympics! There is one thing to consider though. What if the sports above used the same rule that Olympic Soccer uses. All players 23 and below, except for 3 exceptions. Certainly, there are youth and junior world championships, but I would think the Olympics would be viewed as the big thing for that age. It would be their first big exposure (in most cases) to high pressure, worldwide attention that the all age major tourneys offer. Heck, I’d go so far as to make those sports 23 and under with at most 2 exceptions per team. This would also likely force USA basketball to move more towards a team with a higher collegiate representation. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/57 "2004-08-18T19:19:34Z")
Lebron james gets his own Poweraid flavor. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Michael Jordan appeared on Gatorade bottles, but he never had his own flavor. The new darling of the sports marketing world, LeBron James, will have that privilege when 32-ounce bottles of Powerade’s FLAVA23 hit stores next month. > > Not even MJ got his own flavor – this 23 belongs to LeBron. > James participated in the process to select his namesake flavor. This past winter, Coca-Cola chemists went to the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland and put cups of sample flavors in front of the NBA Rookie of the Year, who, like Jordan, wears the number 23. James chose a red sourberry flavor. He then selected the color of the drink from a palette of possibilities, ultimately arriving at something very similar to the Cavaliers’ wine color. And a line straight from that blonde marketing lady on The Simpsons… bolding mine > [@](#): > > “Because LeBron was integrally involved in the development of Powerade FLAVA23, it truly reflects his personality – **bold, cutting-edge, and unique** ,” said Javier Benito, president of the retail division and chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola. He also has a comic book coming out. 😕 bolding mine. > [@](#): > > Tied to the Powerade drink will be a LeBron comic book published by DC Comics titled “King James.” Powerade drinkers can obtain the comic book, which comes in 10 collectible covers, by sending in proofs of purchase or, at participating stores, getting the comic on site with the purchase of Powerade product. Both Powerade and Nike appear in the promotional cartoon, which could grow into something much bigger **for LeBron, who, after seeing the first proof, requested that his character be portrayed with larger muscles.** Wait there’s more… again, bolding mine > [@](#): > > Goodwin said he will be meeting with movie and television executives to talk with them about the idea of having a James animated cartoon series or film. In 1996, Jordan starred in “Space Jam” with Looney Tunes characters including Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig. The movie had a worldwide gross of $225 million. \*\*The James comic, Goodwin said, also could turn into a series of children’s stories or coloring books. \*\* What the fuck is up with all this shit? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/58 "2004-08-19T01:49:55Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > That’s exactly what I mean. Individual players can and do come from all over the world but baseball’s World Series teams can have a maximum of two countries competing. > When “Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentinian Manu Ginobili…helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title two years ago” neither France nor Argentina receieved a trophy. Those NBA teams did. > I’d love to see the look on Bud Selig’s face if the Japanese asked to compete in the playoffs this September. The United States didn’t win a trophy when the Spurs won the NBA title, either. And when David Robinson held up the championship trophy, he wasn’t doing so as an American, he was doing so as a Spur. The Spurs were the best basketball team in the world, that year, bar none. The team included players from many countries, but it didn’t represent any country. And none of that matters. Robinson, Parker and Ginobili got the thrill of knowing they were members of the best basketball team in the world. And that’s something the gold medal winning team this year CAN’T say. Even if the Serbs win the gold medal, they know as well as anybody that the Serbian national team is NOT the best basketball team in the world by a long shot. The Detroit Pistons are. And THAT’S one of the reasons Olympic basketball is so pointless! If Ian Thorpe winns the 100 meter freestyle, he can state proudly and correctly, “I’m the best swimmer in the world.” If the Japanese volleyball team wins gold, they can say proudly, “We’re the best volleyball team in the world.” But the baseball and basketball champions at the Olympics can only say “We’re pretty good.” Or "we’re the best of the second-raters who bothered to show up. - As for major league baseball, MAYBE it was a bit arrogant to call their championship series “the World Series” (though I’m more inclined to think that non-Americans are just a tad too sensitive about such things) a hundred years ago. But today? Today, “World Series” is perfectly appropariate, because the best players from all over the world ARE playing in the American major leagues! The best Mexican, Korean, Japanese, Dominican and \_\_ players (fill in your favorite ethnic group) are playing in the major leagues in the U.S. and Canada. Are there outstanding baseball players in Japan? Sure, and several of them have become stars in the U.S. But the overall level of competition over in Japan is nowhere near as good as it is in the U.S. Second-tier and washed -up American players regularly go to Japan and become stars, which should tell you about the relative strength of the competition. So, quit bellyaching. The team that wins baseball’s World Series WILL be the best team in the world. And any Japanese ballplayer who wants to be part of the best team in baseball is welcome to try out for the Cardinals or the Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/59 "2004-08-19T02:37:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > And THAT’S one of the reasons Olympic basketball is so pointless! If Ian Thorpe winns the 100 meter freestyle, he can state proudly and correctly, “I’m the best swimmer in the world.” If the Japanese volleyball team wins gold, they can say proudly, “We’re the best volleyball team in the world.” > > But the baseball and basketball champions at the Olympics can only say “We’re pretty good.” Or "we’re the best of the second-raters who bothered to show up. But the only nation that sends its second-rate team is the United States. Why should the rest of the world’s basketballers miss out on Olympic competition just because of American hubris? Ask any one of the players on those other teams, and i’m sure they’d be happy to play against the best the US has to offer, whether that is a hand-selected “dream team” of the nation’s best players, or whether it’s a single, championship NBA team like the Pistons. Don’t call Olympic basketball pointless just because the Americans are too lazy or self-centered or whatever to send their best team. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976/60 "2004-08-19T12:47:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But the only nation that sends its second-rate team is the United States. Why should the rest of the world’s basketballers miss out on Olympic competition just because of American hubris? > > Ask any one of the players on those other teams, and i’m sure they’d be happy to play against the best the US has to offer, whether that is a hand-selected “dream team” of the nation’s best players, or whether it’s a single, championship NBA team like the Pistons. > > Don’t call Olympic basketball pointless just because the Americans are too lazy or self-centered or whatever to send their best team. It isn’t just the Americans who are too lazy or self-centered to show up. Vlade Divac and Peta Stojakovic of Serbia blew off the Olympics, too. They know how pointless the whole exercise is, too. And like most NBA players, they’d rather have a few weeks vacation than take part in unimportant exhibition play. And there’s a flip side to your argument. If American refusal to take the Olympics all that seriously is “hubris,” what do you think of the foreign players who’ve been so dominant in international play but have had utterly mediocre careers in the NBA? Why have noine of the Italians or Puerto Ricans who manhandled the U.S. team in the past few weeks done anything noteworthy in the NBA (if, indeed, they ever made it to the NBA at all)? Are they too “lazy” or filled with “hubris” to give their all in the NBA? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-mens-basketball-gets-ass-handed-to-them-by-puerto-rico-how-cool-is-that/259976.md?page=4)