A Guide to the United States Men’s Basketball Team
Keen to learn more about USA Basketball and why the men’s team is so highly decorated? Here at Courtside 1891, we’ve created this in-depth guide to the team. Read on to discover more about Basketball USA’s history as well as its legendary icons, recent champions and the brightest talents on USA’s FIBA World Cup 2023 roster.
2024 Summer Olympics - Men's Basketball
The USA men's basketball team are confirmed as one of the twelve nations that will compete at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. USA automatically qualified for Paris 2024 thanks to their performance at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The Olympic basketball events will take place between 27th July and 10th of August 2024. The nations currently confirmed to participate are France (host), South Sudan, Serbia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and the United States.
The four remaining places will be confirmed through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024, which you can stream live with Courtside 1891. The tournaments are currently scheduled for July 2-7 2024.
From Europe, the competing Olympic qualifying tournament nations are Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Finland, Poland and Croatia.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico advanced from the Americas region, following positive results at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They will be joined by the Bahamas, who shocked Argentina in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in La Banda, Argentina.
Egypt, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon are the competing African nations.
From Asia and Oceania, the teams that advanced were Lebanon, the Philippines, New Zealand and Bahrain.
How Did USA Basketball Do At The FIBA World Cup 2023?
Here are the top stats from USA's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 4th
- → Results: Played 8 Won 5 Lost 3
- → Top Points Scorer: Anthony Edwards 151 PTS (18.9 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Tyrese Haliburton 45 AST (5.6 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Mikal Bridges 16.9 EPG
USA Basketball continued to give rising talents an opportunity to shine on the global stage when they named their squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Finishing outside the medal positions was always going to be seen as a failure and fingers have been pointed at both the roster construction and inflexibility with in-game defensive adjustments.
Mikal Bridges produced one of the great World Cup moments to force overtime in the third-place game with Canada. Watch free highlights of that North American clash below.
USA v Canada | 3rd Place Game - 5-min Game
Keen to learn more about USA Basketball and why the men’s team is so highly decorated? Here at Courtside 1891, we’ve created this in-depth guide to the team. Read on to discover more about Basketball USA’s history as well as its legendary icons, recent champions and the brightest talents on USA’s FIBA World Cup 2023 roster.
- → Pre-World Cup FIBA Men’s World Ranking - 2nd
- → 12 FIBA Basketball World Cup medals, including 5 golds
- → 16 Olympic gold medals and seven FIBA AmeriCup golds
- → Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant have three Olympic golds each for Team USA
- → Appeared in every FIBA Basketball World Cup (19 editions)
The United States men’s basketball team is the most successful side in the history of the international game.
Since the USA joined FIBA in 1934, Team USA has claimed 19 Olympic medals, including a colossal 16 golds. Added to this, USA Basketball has also won five FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medals and seven FIBA AmeriCup golds on the men’s side.
Team Presentation Video
Team Presentation - USA - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
Boost your USA Basketball knowledge with the help of our Team Discovery Video. This bite-size guide was released ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, providing you with plenty of interesting stats and facts that you can share with your buddies during your next pickup run.
World Cup Qualification
USA Basketball qualified for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with a table-topping record of 9-3 across 12 qualification games.
In the first round of qualification, USA were drawn alongside Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba in Group D. They advanced having won five of their six games, tasting defeat to neighbors, Mexico, in Chihuahua City back in Qualifying Window 1 (November 2021).
In the second phase of qualifying, the United States basketball team were drawn alongside Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia in Group F.
After a shock defeat to Brazil on Game Day Nine in their nation’s capital, the Americans got the results they needed to top the group and book their ticket to the main event.
Best World Cup Qualifying Plays
Best Plays - USA - FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers 2023
A dominant force on the international stage, USA Basketball is known for the superstar NBA rivals that join forces to entertain fans with highlight reel dunks, no-look passes and huge defensive rejections.
However, during the qualification process that mainly takes place during the NBA regular season, it’s former NBA players and G-league vets that typically step up for the USA.
During qualification, 10-year NBA vet Langston Galloway’s tight handle helped him regularly scythe through opposition defenses. He made 10 appearances for USA during this time, often putting the team on his back to get them over the line in tight games, averaging 16 points and +12 points when on the floor.
Other notable contributions during various qualification windows came from former NBA Champions Jordan Bell and Quinn Cook, two-time NBA All-Star Isiah Thomas and David Stockton, son of Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, John Stockton.
Despite not all being household names, the American side that qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup produced some scintillating plays. The squad’s Top 10 plays from the qualification phase are highlighted in the video below. The smooth one-handed alley-oop dime from Isaiah Thomas to Justin Anderson is particularly worth watching!
Current Star Players
The USA’s roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 was announced in July.
The headline news was that no players from the 2019 World Cup squad - who finished uncharacteristically outside the medal positions - would be returning this time around. From the 12 players selected, USA looked to tap into fearless youthful energy, length and athleticism at every position to overcome the veteran experience you’ll find on other pre-tournament favorite teams.
Brandan Ingram (25), Anthony Edwards (21) and current NBA ROY (Rookie of the Year) Paolo Banchero (20) are all former top-3 NBA Draft lottery picks. Mikal Bridges (26) and Jalen Brunson (26) are coming off career seasons with their new big-apple ball Clubs and Jaren Jackson Jr. (23) leads a center rotation as the reigning NBA DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year).
Despite the appearance of lacking international experience, only three players - Josh Hart (28), Cameron Johnson (27) and Austin Reaves (25) - were yet to make their national team debuts at the time of their call-up.
A great example of USA Basketball’s development programme is Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who signed a contract extension with the Pacers that’s worth up to $260 million on the same day the US squad was announced. That’s not a bad 24 hours for the young man!
Although Haliburton made his FIBA Basketball World Cup debut in 2023, he does have plenty of international experience. He helped the USA U19 team claim FIBA Basketball World Cup gold in 2019 and trained (alongside Antony Edwards) with Team USA ahead of their triumphant run during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Legends of the Team
Some of the finest players in the history of the game have represented Team USA during their careers. In fact, the GOAT to many, Michael Jordan, won two Olympic gold medals with the side. Added to this, ‘The King’ himself, LeBron James, has also won two Olympic golds with the national team.
But neither phenom was able to lift a FIBA World Cup trophy, proving just how tough a tournament it is to win. Jordan was in retirement and playing baseball when Shaquille O’Neal led USA Basketball to gold in 1994. Meanwhile, LeBron James was 22 years old when Greece shocked the USA and the basketball world in the semi-final of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The newest FIBA World Cup Ambassador, Carmelo Anthony, was also on that team and has gone on the record as saying the World Cup is the hardest competition in basketball to win.
You can watch that all-timer game back here:
Greece v USA | Semi-Final | Classic Game
No list of American basketball greats would be complete without mention of the late, great Kobe Bryant. This five-time NBA champ, former NBA MVP and 18-time All-Star also claimed two Olympic gold medals with Team USA as well as a FIBA Americas Championship title in 2007.
Despite never having the opportunity to participate in a FIBA World Cup, his status across the globe led him to become a FIBA Global Ambassador for the 2019 World Cup in China.
In recent years, a number of sure-fire NBA Hall of Famers have represented the United States basketball team. For example, Kevin Durant set the 2010 edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup on fire with a series of legendary plays that you can watch in the video below.
Top 10 - Kevin Durant - USA - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010
On a similar note, Kyrie Irving single-handedly changed the course of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final with this scintillating 26-point performance where he went 6/6 from three-point range:
Game Changers - Kyrie Irving - USA v Serbia - Final - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014
Unsurprisingly, following America’s success, he was named as the tournament’s MVP.
Historical World Cup Performance
Since the first FIBA Basketball World Cup in 1950, the USA side has appeared at every edition of the tournament.
During this time, they’ve claimed five gold medals, three silver medals and four bronze medals.
If the medal tally isn’t impressive enough for you, then it’s also worth pointing out that the side has won more than 80% of all the games they’ve ever played at the tournament. Of the 158 competitive games they’ve featured in, they’ve triumphed in 129 and have only lost 29.
That said, last time out, the USA side endured its worst ever result at a FIBA Basketball World Cup, finishing seventh. The team was defeated by France at the quarter-final stage and was then overpowered by a more-motivated Serbia squad in the first classification game.
Previous Successes and Tournament Wins
American dominance of the sport at the national level has been displayed at the Olympic Games. Here, the side have won 16 gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
America's most famous Olympic gold medal was delivered by ‘The Dream Team’ in 1992. This now legendary side was the first to feature professional NBA players. Headlined by back-to-back Bulls champions at the time, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the squad also featured a glittering Hall of Fame cast including Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Patrick Ewing.
Described by many fans and pundits as ‘the greatest sports team ever assembled’, The Dream Team annihilated the competition, defeating its opponents by an average of 44 points. Their closest game was the gold medal match, where they handily dispatched Croatia 117-85.
How to Watch USA Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can stream every game of FIBA international tournaments, as well as other competitions from around the world.
As FIBA’s premium streaming partner for the World Cup, Courtside 1891 provided access to every 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup game! Watch the competition's biggest games and best moments on-demand on our FIBA Basketball World Cup page.
The best way to make sure that you never miss a single second of the upcoming action is to download our app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play, or sign up to our website platform. Please be aware that, due to broadcasting rights and restrictions, access to some games might be restricted depending on your location. See our where-to-watch page for full details of upcoming competitions.
Looking for the latest results from the world of basketball? Head over to the Courtside 1891 Game Center. Here you’ll also find matchup times in your country as well as easy-to-access game highlights you can watch when you register with Courtside 1891.
