Back in 2016, Charles Barkley commented on the USA sending NBA players to the Olympics. During which he openly questioned why the country needed to win the tournament every single year. Instead, he proposed a peculiar age restriction on the players that could participate. On The Graham Bensinger Show, Barkley requested the NBA to stop sending its players to the Olympics.
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He proposed that the tournament be used to develop young players who weren’t ready for the league. To put this into practice, he put forward that the country should consider making this an under-23 outing.
“We don’t have to win the Olympics all the time. We don’t have to send in Kevin Durant for this thing… They’re making them play too much!… They just played the NBA season, some of them went deep into the playoffs… Why not let some of our young guys play? They need the experience in the game. They not ready for the NBA. Why don’t we let them play now, play next summer?…”
He further added, “I believe, there’s been some chatter, starting a rule, we have to be 23 and under. I think that would be great.” Barkley then mentioned that Kevin Durant has come close to injury at these tournaments. He kept repeating the message that the USA had no need to send a “nuclear war head’ to international tournaments. He believed that the country had also proven that it was the best around.
To be fair to Chuck, his comments were justified at the time. The USA won convincingly at the 2014 Olympics and the FIBA World Cup in the same year. Additionally, they won the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics with relative ease as well.
At this point in time, it made sense it may have made sense to use the tournament to develop the nation’s finest college players. However, things have changed since then. And the greatest example of this is the USA’s 2024 Olympic team.
How have things changed for Team USA basketball?
The 2023 FIBA World Cup proved to be an eye-opener for Team USA. Kevin Durant seemed to be a mainstay in USA’s international teams until this point. But during this tournament, even he withdrew from participation. Instead, the country sent out a relatively lackluster roster, spearheaded by Anthony Edwards and Paolo Banchero.
This roster did have some admirable displays. However, not only did they fail to win gold, they failed to win a medal of any kind at the tournament. This made one thing clear. While the world hadn’t caught up to them all the way yet, Team USA needed to take the tournament more seriously. Or it could be stung by competitors.
The loss motivated the country’s biggest stars to rally together. The nation sent out a stacked roster, filled to the brim with superstars. Most notably LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant were all on this team. And as many expected, when it counted most, the country mopped the floor with every competitor. In the end, it was a simple journey to the gold medal.
Perhaps there is no need for Team USA to send a nuclear warhead. However, if the country chooses to send only under-23 players, it will likely face embarrassment at international tournaments.
