Has Europe caught up to the United States of America when it comes to basketball? There are scores who think so. Believe it or not, that sentiment isn’t new. Hall-of-Fame guard Mitch Richmond also came to the same conclusion. The only difference is that he came to that understanding in 1988.
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America has always been a juggernaut in basketball. The greatest players to ever play in the NBA typically come from America. Whenever it came to international competition, it became a foregone conclusion which nation would reign as champion.
That was the case ahead of the 1988 Olympics. At the time, professional athletes were not allowed to represent their country. As a result, the USA sent a collection of the best college athletes. The consensus was that they would leave Seoul, South Korea, with a gold medal.
Instead, the entire roster experienced a rude awakening.
“At that time, we felt that the European style of basketball had caught up,” Richmond revealed on Byron Scott’s Fast Break.
The former Golden State Warriors star doesn’t want to use age as an excuse, but it certainly played a part. This was especially considering the experience of the players on the other side.
“We were still college kids. Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Arvydas Sabonis and Vlade Divac, all of these guys had been playing in the pro system for years,” Richmond proclaimed.
If these European players had professional experience, how were they able to play in the Olympics while NBA players weren’t? Politics played a huge role.
Communist countries would mask athletic training under the umbrella of military duty. Athletes weren’t receiving an income to play the support, hence why they weren’t considered professional athletes.
Despite the disparity in experience and age, America still had a talented roster. David Robinson, Danny Manning, Dan Majerle, and Hersey Hawkins were also key figures alongside Richmond.
These players only had a few weeks to build chemistry. On the other hand, many of the European players had been playing with each other since they were children. All these differences aside, both teams put up a strong fight. Unfortunately for the United States, the Soviet Union prevailed by a score of 82-76.
The United States would go on to win a bronze medal, while the Soviet Union took home the gold. The heartbreaking loss left a bad taste in the mouths of the American players. It also subjected the entire team to immense scrutiny.
Richmond, however, is happy that technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today.
“Thank God there wasn’t social media back then,” Richmond said. “Lord have mercy. They would have been killing us.”
It’s safe to say Richmond saw how the internet treated the 2023 United States FIBA team, which finished fourth in the World Cup. The players didn’t hear the end of it until the 2024 Olympics roster washed away everyone’s memory of the disaster.
Luckily, Richmond was able to avoid the criticism that would’ve come through social media. Although that didn’t mean he didn’t receive any negative press. In 1992, the Olympics would allow professional athletes to compete, leading to the Dream Team.
Richmond would get the opportunity to redeem himself, which he would do by helping lead the United States to a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
