5 Times USA Basketball Team Lost A Tournament

Winning a marquee tournament is a dream of any sportsperson across all competitive sport. Basketball is no exception to it. But, what makes this beautiful sport's marquee events unique and difficult are the rules or game format, which are slightly different from the regular NBA games. International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA is the governing body of International Basketball events. Moreover, before the 90s professional NBA players were not allowed to participate in Olympics, which was rescinded after the 1992 Olympics.

The USA National Basketball Team has dominated the whole world and has been the epicenter of Basketball since the invention of the game. But at times, this monopoly was not only being challenged but also rested in abeyance from the reach of the United States. Ever since the 1996 Olympics, US Basketball had endured a gold medal drought for a better part of 12 years. It finally ended in Beijing, 2008.

Here today, we will discuss the all-time major USA Basketball Team losses in any major tournament. Here's our compilation:

#5- Summer Olympics 2004

(Bronze)

Argentinian Squad.

The 2004 Summer Olympics proved to be a debacle for the USA team. The Team registered two early losses against Puerto Rico (92-73) and Lithuania (94-90) in league stage matches. The USA faced formidable Argentina in the semifinal and lost by an eight (89-81) point differential, forcing them to play in the bronze medal match. The team wasn't star-studded barring Allen Iverson, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Tim Duncan. There were many other reasons for the failure, which included-

1 - Amid 9/11 attack forced many players to take a personal decision not to participate because of the security concerns, it included Mike Bibby and Tracey McGrady.

2- Several players were injured and not in the condition to play, this included players like Jason Kidd, Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O' Neal.

3- Several sighted personal reasons like marriages and family function.

4- No Kobe Bryant, because of the hearing for sexual assault case against Kobe.

5- Coach Larry Brown had only 2 weeks to prepare with his team.

On the other side were the Argentinians under Coach Sergihich o Hernandez. The star-laden team which included players like Carlos Delfino, Andrés Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, Emanuel Ginóbili and Alejandro Montecchia, all of whom have played in the NBA proceeded to defeat the United States.

#4 FIBA World Championship 2006 (Third)

Spanish Team at winning Ceremony.

By 2006, USA Basketball was in a furrow. Despite a strong line-up which included players like LeBron, D-Wade, Carmelo and Elton Brand, the team couldn’t quite break the drought that had started in 1996.

Teams like Spain, Greece, and Argentina had very strong lineups and gave the toughest competition USA ever faced. 24 teams participated in the Tournament. The group stage was fairly easy to win. Reaching the semifinals the USA faced seasoned Greeks, most of them with huge experience of playing together in a close-knit group for years.

Most of the International teams practice for years together, but in the case of the USA, it is entirely different. It so happens that the stars from different NBA teams are put together and sent to play in a very different environment. Unable to evolve against Greece, the USA lost by a differential of 6 points(101-95) in the semifinal.

Reasons for this loss were similar to that of 2004 Olympics. Moreover, International players like Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Yao Ming (China), Peja Stojakovic (Yugoslavia) and Pau Gasol (Spain) led national teams no longer intimidated by the US star power.

#3- 2002 FIBA World Championship(6th place)

2002 Yugoslavian squad.

It is perhaps the darkest in the coveted history of the USA National Basketball. What actually exacerbated the situation was that they were completely decimated and lost in front of the home crowd. Many reasons can be cited for this condition.

Ray Allen had left-knee tendinitis; Shaq had a bad toe and Jason Kidd injured his groin in the playoffs. Players like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett all decided to rest.

The 2002 Team USA squad followed up the Argentina loss with an 81-78 defeat at the hands of Yugoslavians, who took a 9-0 lead at the start of the game.

This was the last appearance of Yugoslavia as a nation in any sports tournament across the globe. As the nation stopped to exist after that.

#2- 1998 FIBA World Championship(Third)

Peja Stojakovic Charitabowl Bowling Event

The rise of Yugoslavian Team serendipitously coincided with the labor dispute that led to a lockout resulting in none of the NBA players become part of the USA National Basketball team. The team was just a group of amateurs and overseas professionals who were put together in just three weeks. The USA team still performed admirably under the circumstances.

In league stage match, the USA had a minor 2 point loss against Lithuania(84-82). But this misfortune continued in the semifinal against their arch enemy Russia(66-64) in a tight match as the team with a differential of 2 points in semifinals. Yugoslavia went on crushing Russia in the final and won the first position.

#1-1972 Olympics(Silver)

Soviets after scoring.

The 1972 Olympic men's basketball was one of the most controversial events in Olympics history. This was the first ever recorded loss of Team USA from the beginning of the game in 1936. The United States team won the previous seven gold medals and was primed for yet another heist. At that time, The Cold War was at the culmination point and also fueled the rivalry.

According to official documents, the final score was 51-50 and Soviets had their first Gold in Basketball. While the USA Basketball Team refused to accept the silver medal owing to the irregularities in final seconds of the game when the score was level.

Till now, it remains to be the greatest controversy of Basketball. Team USA hasn't accepted the silver medal officially.