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Rudy Gay, a 17-year NBA player, weighed in on Team USA’s abysmal performance at the FIBA World Cup on X/Twitter, drawing a wide range of comments from fans.
The Americans were knocked out of the FIBA World Cup by eventual champion Germany 113-111 in the semifinals. Their poor performance continued in the bronze medal game, losing 127-118 to Canada in an overtime thriller.
Rudy Gay said that Team USA's lackluster performance had nothing to do with coaching or the selection of players. Rudy believes there is no excuse for the poor showing by the American national team.
"Nothing to do with coaching or whether it’s a B or C team. These other countries have players that would die to be there, we have players that where chosen," Gay tweeted.
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The post drew support and condemnation.
One user agrees with Gay's point, replying that European players have more national pride than the USA.
Another user had an issue with the attitude of American players when it comes to representing their country.
The same theme seemed to carry on, with most people being of the mindset that American NBA players do not value playing for their nation.
Team USA players and Steve Kerr to blame for disappointing performance
Team USA has struggled to field a team with its most talented players for non-Olympic international competition. The main reason is that the most skilled American players prefer to focus on the lucrative NBA season and staying healthy.
The number of American basketball stars watching Team USA get knocked out of the tournament on TV is large. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Devin Booker and dozens of others were conspicuously missing.
It's not far-fetched to think these players would have made a major impact. While there are reasonable questions to be asked about the USA's coaching decisions, especially in close-out situations, the shallow bench hurt them.
Meanwhile, international team players played with a zeal that was lacking from Team USA. It will be interesting to see what the Americans will do going forward. They have not won a FIBA World Cup since 2014.
