I remember the first time I became aware of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. It was back in 1994 when the tournament took place in Toronto, Canada - a location that was obscure, perhaps even comical at the time, given its lack of basketball reputation (but more about that later...)
NO DREAM, NO REDEEM, NO NOTHING
WORLD CHAMPION OF THE NBA
As with the iconic 1992 Olympic competition that had taken place 2 years prior, the USA Squad were stacked. The '94 team were officially known as Dream Team II, the OG's younger brothers. They were the remix - rocking the same distinctive uniforms but with a completely revamped team. They were young and vibrant. They were rap music and Super Nintendos. They were Shaquille O'Neal and Larry Johnson. They were cool, and their opponents were irrelevant - or that's how it felt at the time, at least...
As this year's competition was taking place, USA track-athlete Noah Lyles was taking shots at the NBA's 'World Champion' accolade, handed out to whoever lifts the Larry O'Brien each year. He faced ample criticism, most notably from Kevin Durant who called on his league comrades to argue the point that the National Basketball Association is composed of the best basketball players in the world, therefore the 'World Champion' title makes sense, right? Wrong.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
As this year's FIBA World Cup competition progressed, it was business as usual for Team USA at first, dominating their group with trademark blowouts like it was 1994. Unlike 30 years ago, though, they weren't alone in their casual victories. Serbia made light work of their group-stage opponents, so did Germany - you know who else?! Canada. The home, ice hockey-loving nation who'd been average in the year when Shaq and Shawn Kemp came to town were now legitimate title contenders.
deutsche gründlichkeit
When it came to the crunch, it was Germany who took home the well-deserved title, with Dennis Schröder defeating the mighty Nikola Jovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic in a competitive finals matchup.
This year's tournament tells an ongoing story about the evolution of the worldwide game and the teams who were once irrelevant now becoming impossible to ignore. They are All-Stars, league MVPs, and NBA First Team members. The best in the world, the big wide world that transcends North America. For me though, it was the matchup for third place that told a deeper story. As Canada beat Team USA in an overtime thriller I was left with one lasting thought...
Noah Lyles was right.
