It’s undeniable that the NBA consists of some of the world’s best basketball players. However, a recent controversy sparked by Team USA’s disappointing performance in the recent World Cup sparked a contentious debate amongst basketball fans across the globe: should the NBA championship team be considered world champions?
Although Team USA has dominated the Olympics in the past, winning 16 basketball gold medals in 19 Olympics, this year’s Team USA finished fourth in the World Cup hosted by International Basketball Federation, or FIBA. Placing behind Germany, Serbia and Canada, this disappointing performance has caused many basketball fans to question if the NBA champions are really the best in the world.
While the NBA is undoubtedly the best league in the world, people cannot call the best team in the NBA ‘world champions,’ simply because they are playing in the best league. To be a world champion, a team must compete at the world stage against other teams around the globe. Not to mention, calling an NBA team ‘world champions’ is disrespectful and ignorant to other basketball leagues around the world, like the EuroLeague, which boasts European teams such as AS Monaco and FC Barcelona. The US must stop putting themselves at the top of the world in sports and acknowledge excellence around the world.
However, many NBA superstars such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Damian Lillard defended this year’s Team USA performance, arguing it did not really consist of the best players in the league. This year’s national team consisted of only four All-Star players, all of whom had just one All-Star appearance. In fact, none of the current top 15 players (according to CBS Sports) in the NBA even played on Team USA. While many of the top European talents, like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, played for their home country in the FIBA World Cup, the majority of the top US players like Stephen Curry, Lebron James and Jayson Tatum chose not to play.
This mindset about the USA’s superiority in sports many Americans have isn’t just limited to basketball, however; the baseball world series is also only made up of American and Canadian teams. These problematic practices raise concerns about the global perspective of American sports leagues. It is essential to recognize and acknowledge excellence in sports worldwide, not just in America, to truly deserve the title of ‘world champions.’
