The 2026 NBA All-Star Game proved that the United States remains the global juggernaut of basketball. The rest of the world has made extreme progress to catch up to America, but has yet to overtake it as the face of basketball. Many people believe the time is coming before the world dethrones Team USA. That narrative may have greater undertones than people understand.
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Of course, the NBA All-Star Game isn’t the best way to gauge international basketball. The Olympics and the FIBA World Cup have always been the pinnacle of international play. Historically, America has dominated in that facet, but has expereinced their stranglehold weakening as of late.
In the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA didn’t even finish with a medal. Their disappointing performance led to the formation of a super team featuring Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James. Despite their presence, Team USA was on the brink of elimination multiple times against Serbia and France.
Although Team USA prevailed in the end, many people used their lack of dominance as further fuel to promote the world’s growth in basketball. Durant has never been one to enjoy such a narrative.
“I just don’t like the talk around the USA versus European style of how you approach the game,” Durant told ESPN. “All I hear is, ‘AAU is destroying the game; the Euros do it right while the Americans do it wrong.'”
This isn’t the first time Durant has said something of that sentiment. However, the Houston Rockets star also believes those conversations insinuate something deeper than just on-court performance.
“It’s a lot of bulls*** with that. I can read between the lines on that. It’s a shot at Black Americans. We’re controlling the sport. They’re tired of us controlling the sport,” Durant proclaimed.
There’s no need for an elephant in the room. It’s widely known that basketball is primarily dominated by African Americans, specifically black Americans. It became even more exemplified on the mainstream scale once the IOC allowed NBA players to compete in the Olympics in 1992. The gold medal in basketball has gone to Team USA in each instance aside from 2004.
This narrative has become more popular due to the rise of European superstars. The top three players in the league, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, are all born outside of America. As a result, people have sided with the narrative that the world has caught up to the USA.
Nonetheless, when America has put together their best team, nobody has been able to beat them. The next true opportunity to test their stature will be in the 2027 FIBA World Cup. However, the best talent doesn’t tend to suit up for this tournament.
The following year will be the Olympics, which will take place on home soil in Los Angeles. That will be the perfect battle test to revisit this and decide the outcome of this narrative once and for all.
