NBA champions are not world champions

The PtR staff offers their thoughts on the controversy about NBA champion vs. world champion, attempts to build a team that can beat Team USA, and tries to figure out why the US struggles in 3×3 basketball.

The US didn’t win gold in either men’s or women’s 3×3 basketball. Did it surprise you or was it expected, since the country doesn’t take the sport as seriously as others yet?

Marilyn Dubinski: It caught my attention enough that wrote about it a bit then made up my own completely unrealistic Spurs 3×3 teams. That being said, you also have to consider why the teams, especially the men, are unexciting: the players have to participate in the qualifiers to play in the Olympics, and that’s during the NBA season, hence why Jimmer Fredette was the most recognizable face there. It would be much more exciting to have the team consist of current NBA players, perhaps ones that just missed the cut for the main squad, but for that to happen, the rules and/or timing will have to change.

Mark Barrington: Honestly, I didn’t know that 3×3 basketball was an Olympic sport until I saw it on this year’s TV coverage. When I played back in pickup games, I really preferred halfcourt games, because I wasn’t in good enough shape or quick enough to keep up in a full court game, and it’s the kind of game where a guy like Jimmer Fredette can excel because it’s not so much about athleticism as it is about skill and craftiness. The US squad was doomed when Fredette got injured and they had to play without subs for the entire game. Even with Jimmer in the lineup, they weren’t good enough to medal, so they will need to do more to be competitive. The 3×3 game is different enough that current NBA players can’t just jump in and immediately master, and it would be nice to add some retired players who can play pickup-style ball. I wonder if Jamal Crawford is interested?

Jesus Gomez: It’s a little surprising because on talent alone the US should absolutely dominate. The women’s team won gold in 2020 and bronze in 2024, so they are doing fine, but the men’s team has no medals and didn’t make it to the Games in 2020. The eligibility issues prevent the best candidates from suiting up, but there are enough recently retired NBA players who could jump in but haven’t, aside from Jimmer Fredette. Eventually more high-level players will commit to the game mode but I wouldn’t be shocked if it takes the US a while to become the top dog.

J.R. Wilco: The 3×3 game is not based on talent alone. It’s reliant on teamwork, communication and knowing where your teammates are going to be. So the best teams are going to be the ones that play together all the time, and win regional and national tournaments, and travel well. If the US’s 3×3 system isn’t producing teams good enough to do all of that now, then I doubt much will change unless the sport gets more popular. How popular is it now? Well, of the group of people I was watching the Olympics with on Sunday afternoon, I was the only one who even knew that 3×3 was a thing. So, by that measure there’s quite of room to grow.

Gold medalist sprinter Noah Lyles continues to face criticism for comments he made in the past saying the NBA champion is not the world champion. Do you agree with Lyles?

Dubinski: I’m kind of surprised such a fuss has been made about it because, to be honest, I thought calling the NBA champions “world” champions faded away a while ago, perhaps around the time the Spurs were winning so often with international players. (I guess it goes to show how little I pay attention once the Spurs’ season ends.) I get both sides of the argument: the NBA champion would likely beat any other team in the world 9 times out of 10 on a bad day, but the fact is we don’t know that for sure because there is no such competition. Plus, the sport is growing, and upsets do happen. Another case against calling the NBA champion the “world champions” would be Manchester City is currently ranked as the top professional soccer team in the world, but they aren’t considered the “world champs” of soccer; that title belongs to Argentina, who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup: the biggest international competition.

Barrington: It’s a statement that’s objectively true, so there’s no reason to get upset about it. The NBA is the best basketball league on the planet, but they don’t play against teams from other countries (except Canada). I would love to see more exhibition games with US teams against European teams, and eventually a real competition. International basketball is improving, and it could happen that they’re eventually going to become competitive with the NBA. The biggest problem for a lot of pro basketball in countries besides the US is that the best players are all playing in the NBA, but in competitions like the Olympics, it’s a little more balanced, and I could see a European team eventually knocking off the Stars and Stripes. I just hope it’s not this year.

Gomez: It’s a semantics discussion that has been going on for a long time. In reality, there’s no need for the banners to read “world champions.” It comes off as arrogant and disrespectful to other countries even if that’s not the intention. In the end, the NBA is a domestic league even if it’s leaps and bounds better than any other. If you win the title, you are an NBA champion and that’s impressive and prestigious enough. It’s not a huge deal, but I can understand why some people have an issue with it, especially people like Lyles who compete at the international level most of the time.

Wilco: The whole “World Champions” thing began around 1904 with Major League Baseball calling it’s title the World Series to make it sound grand. (Apparently that kind of thing worked in the early 20th century. And it was accurate at that point if not particularly relevant seeing that the ONLY people playing America’s brand of baseball lived in the US at that point. That made it kind of like saying that Earth is known for having “Best Ballplayers in the Galaxy.” It’ll be true until we colonize Mars and they put a team together. Calling your league’s winners the champions of the world when they don’t actually PLAY any teams from outside your country is more than a bit presumptuous. It’s not anything I’d campaign over, but now the rest of the world likes the sport enough to make it an open question, it’d probably be a good idea to stop out of politeness if for no other reason.

Can you build a five-man team of players who didn’t make it to the Olympics that could challenge Team USA? (You can use American pros, international pros or college players.)

Dubinski: This is hard because everyone off the top of my head is either already in the Olympics or old. Obviously you have to start with Jaylen Brown, who is angry about being left out and would play with a chip on his shoulder. Beyond that, I feel you have to go for points, so I would insert a backcourt of Trae Young and Luka Doncic (who have always been been tied at the hip due to draft night trades, so why not see them together), maybe throw caution to the wind and add Cooper Flagg since he held his own on the practice squad, and round out the lineup with Karl-Anthony Towns, who can score, rebound and help spread out Team USA’s centers. (I would then pull Luka and KAT aside and remind them that FIBA is more physical than the NBA, so toughen up and don’t bark at the refs.)

Barrington: This is an interesting mental exercise, but it’s pretty obvious that this year’s US Olympic team is one of the best assemblies of basketball talent ever put together on the court. You could assemble a team of NBA players who didn’t quite make the squad and make it somewhat competitive, but they’re not going to win many games. I would include Jaylen Brown, who wasn’t selected because of fit, and most of the guys that Marilyn mentioned. Luka is only available because Slovenia was eliminated from qualifying, but he might be the best player on the team. Jaylen Brunson can score points in bunches. After all of this effort, you would end up with a team that’s still not going to be able to stay on the court with the US A-Team. You just have to give credit to Grant Hill and Steve Kerr for putting together a basketball juggernaut.

Gomez: This might be cheating because he was a part of Team USA before bowing out but I’d start with Kawhi Leonard. It’s a short tournament, so he might be able to stay healthy through it. Luka Doncic and Jaylen Brown are a lock. All three of those guys need the ball, so I’d need some 3-and-D role players. Jaren Jackson Jr. would be my pick at center because of his length and versatility and Alex Caruso as my guard, since Marcus Smart is hurt and I need a great point-of-attack defender. That five-man squad has the defense, shooting, athleticism and especially the shot-making to at least give Team USA trouble.

Wilco: First, there’s this:

Which I think is largely why the rest of the world is catching up. Eventually, the US just having the best players will not be enough. Then they’ll actually have to learn to play together to become greater than the sum of the parts. You know, like a team.

So, if none of the world’s national teams can beat Team USA, then it’d have to be an NBA team that didn’t send anyone to Paris this summer. I guess that makes it the Dallas Mavericks? They might not win a 7 game series against LeBron and Co, but they could take one for sure!