"We gotta bust people's a**": Stephen A. Smith calls on LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Team USA to put the world in its place at the 2024 Olympics

We are less than a year away from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Team USA might need NBA superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry to represent the country once again.

During the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the Americans fell short of achieving their goal of winning gold when they ended up placing fourth in the tournament. As a result, many sports analysts and athletes are now criticizing Team USA's credibility.

Prominent sports personality Stephen A. Smith recently called out Team USA's shortcomings. Smith pointed out that LeBron James now wants to participate in the 2024 Olympics to make up for their FIBA disaster.

James is reportedly assembling a star-studded team that consists of guys like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant:

"We wanna call ourselves the best in the world but guess what? We haven't accomplished it yet. We're getting our a** kicked. ... So when LeBron James says what he says, that's a beautiful thing.

"Because that's exactly what's needed. Get Steph Curry by the way. Get Kevin Durant by the way. Get Klay Thompson by the way. Get Kyrie Irving by the way.

"You gotta get back to the Dream Team and the Redeem Team. We gotta bust people's a**. We gotta show them like 'Yo! It's a different day. It ain't like that. We still are who you thought we were.' So that's just me."

Team USA is left without a medal for the second straight year in the FIBA World Cup

Team USA loses in the 2023 FIBA World Cup

The recent performances of Team USA have highlighted the increasing competitiveness of international basketball. Coach Steve Kerr emphasized that the global balance of power had shifted long before the Americans missed out on a medal for the second consecutive FIBA World Cup.

The Americans' hopes of winning the championship were crushed by Germany in the semi-finals as they got their revenge after losing in Team USA's FIBA World Tour.

The USA's frustrations continued as they failed to secure a bronze medal, ultimately falling to a 127-118 overtime defeat against neighbors Canada at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, September 10th.

Team USA entered the competition with high expectations, especially after an impressive showing in their five-game exhibition series leading up to the World Cup, where they triumphed over strong teams such as defending champion Spain, Germany, Slovenia, Greece and Puerto Rico.

However, the team, assembled in less than two months, struggled defensively against opponents who thrived on teamwork and chemistry.

Germany, for example, shot an impressive 58% from the field, including an astounding 68% from two-point range, in their 113-111 victory over the United States, earning their first-ever FIBA World Cup Finals appearance.

In the battle for the bronze medal, Canada managed to score 127 points, the highest number of points conceded by the American team in a World Cup game. This outcome marked the first time that Canada had finished ahead of the USA in a World Cup tournament.

Additionally, it was the first instance in which Team USA failed to secure a medal in consecutive World Cup editions since their fourth-place finish in 1963, followed by another fourth place in 1967 and fifth place in 1970.