Anthony Edwards and Co. Fail to Meet Expectations as They Lose Out On Even A Bronze Medal at the FIBA World Cup

The USA basketball team failed to capture a bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup, leading to an immense level of disappointment from fans. While the silver lining here is that guys like Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves emerged as stars with great potential, USA hoops fans are much too spoiled with decades of excellence to compartmentalize this loss and chalk it up as anything but a massive failure.

The roster, upon its announcement for Team USA’s FIBA World Cup, was unexpected to win the World Championship title. Prominent NBA personalities, such as Shaquille O’Neal, questioned the team’s worth for lacking experience and proficiency in playing for the national team. Seems like the apprehension of many fans and NBA analysts was right all the while.

Team USA faced tough losses against Germany and Canada, which dwindled all of their chances to bring in a medal back home. In the bronze medal match, Team USA lost 127-118 to Canada in overtime, with former Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks dropping 39 points in the game. Despite such brilliant flashes of performances, emerging stars Austin Reaves and Anthony Edwards failed to show up for their team at their most crucial juncture.

Anthony Edwards admits the Team USA came in short against Canada

It would be unfair to say Anthony Edwards didn’t give his all for the team and in the bronze medal game against Canada. The Timberwolves star contributed 24 points for his team in a valiant effort to secure a medal in this tournament. Alas, all of his and Austin Reaves’ efforts were in vain as the team fell short of a formidable Canada during the overtime period. Reacting to this loss, Anthony Edwards told the press in a post-game interview,

“Man we did our job, just came in short…I mean, we couldn’t get many starts, our defense was pretty bad.” 

Adding further, in the interview, Edwards seemed content with the level of competition faced by the Canadian side. Though he and his team fell short in their performance, he seemed confident enough to get back to winning when he goes back to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA.