Germany wrapped up an undefeated World Cup by topping Serbia, 83-77, in Sunday’s gold medal game. Team USA, which had been favored to win the gold, left without a medal after falling to Canada in an overtime thriller in the bronze medal contest.
Dennis Schröder led the Germans with 28 points in the finals and Franz Wagner added 19. Germany was able to take down all challengers in the tournament despite playing much of it without Wagner, who suffered a sprained ankle in the opener against Japan.
Schröder was named World Cup MVP (Twitter link) and was joined on the All-Star 5 by Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, USA’s Anthony Edwards, Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic (Twitter link).
Canada’s victory was noteworthy as it marked the nation’s first-ever medal in World Cup competition and only its second win against the U.S. in a senior men’s tournament. The Canadians were led by 31 points and 12 assists from Gilgeous-Alexander and 39 points from Dillon Brooks, who continues to rebuild his reputation following a playoff embarrassment and an unpleasant separation with the Grizzlies in free agency.
“It was so enjoyable. Obviously the hate doesn’t stop, it keeps going,” Brooks told reporters, including Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “It’s hard to battle against the world and a team.”
Before earning their medals, the Canadians had to survive a miracle finish from Team USA that sent the game to overtime. Trailing by four points with 4.2 seconds remaining, Mikal Bridges hit his first free throw and purposely missed the second before chasing down the rebound in the right corner and hitting a spinning three-pointer with 0.6 left on the clock. Bridges, who scored 19 points and battled Gilgeous-Alexander on defense, may be one of the members of the World Cup roster with a strong chance of returning for the Olympics.
However, Canada controlled play in the overtime to capture a 127-118 victory that sent the U.S. home without a medal for the second straight World Cup. The Americans dropped three of their last four games as defense and rebounding became persistent issues.
“We just didn’t defend well enough against Germany (in the semifinals) or against Canada, and that’s the bottom line,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Every year when you try to build a team, you try to build the best two-way team you can and be able to get stops and score, and everybody’s trying to do that.”
Windhorst points out that the Americans have now lost seven combined games over their last three major tournaments, creating a wide open race for the gold at the Paris Olympics next summer. The U.S. may have to reconsider the type of players it wants to invite, although Kerr said USA Basketball officials felt good about the World Cup roster they put together.
“We’ve really studied everything about FIBA and the history of United States basketball when we’ve won, what has been the reason and when we’ve lost what has been the reason,” Kerr said. “So we study all that stuff, and what it comes down to for us in this tournament, we put ourselves in a great position. We got to the semifinals and were right there.”
Dennis Schroder was named MVP of this tournament. Dennis is a fine basketball player but, take a moment and let that sink in.
MVP of the tournament – yes. Dennis played a great World Cup and led Germany to the title. Doesn’t mean he is a hypothetical best basketball player of the world. But being the most important player of a 8-0 Team speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Not saying he shouldn’t of been MVP. Look at what he can do in this tournament and what he does in the NBA. Maybe I was suggesting NBA competition is much steeper?
For sure. In a League Club system, there is much more time for preparation and building chemistry. But, and that is a big but, the NBA is a different kind of basketball. Stars-centered hero ball, hoisting threes all the time.
But look what Dennis averaged in Atlanta when he was one of the centerpieces in 2017-18: 19.4ppg with 6.2apg. Or in 2019-20 with OKC: 18.9ppg.
That’s all the NBA is. Overrated millionaires who watch each other shoot then hug after the game
Or the opposite of you think about it. Maybe the NBA is not as good as you think. Look where USA finished. We couldn’t win anything so what are you talking about
The NBA players couldn’t beat Dennis ouch. NBA is weak really. See Kerr as the coach was out coached.
Mikal Bridges showed why he was the best player on team usa. Ant doesnt have the leadership skills, teamwork and defense that Mikal has and definitely lacks to humility to realise the team was better off playing team basketball instead of iso ball.
Amazing campaign for Canada that is just the beggining of a very winning era for them. Also for Germany, real nice seeing a different team on top. The olympics will be dope and I hope more players start taking the world cup seriously.
Steve Kerr congrats on the 4th place ribbon! Guy is a Chumpanze
Although he will have to alter his strategy a bit in ‘24, he will have the NBA’s top U.S. players at his disposal.
And Steve Kerr is a CHAMPanzee. (I corrected that for you at no charge). C’mon, you even spelled the base word of your little quip incorrectly.
8-0 in tournament
20 pts 7 ast a game. 28 pts in Final game.
PG who ran the team …..
I’d say he’s the the MVP …..
This German team does not have more talent than USA team. Just look at the rosters. Yet they went 8-0. Even with Wagner out two gms. Teams win games. It’s more than just talent.
Germany had more chemistry playing together longer than USA team was the big difference. Team USA played like it was a showcase tournament not a win at all cost. That is why they had to come back in so many games the last quarter.
The point of my comment was to show what he can do in this tournament and what he can’t do in the NBA. That’s why I said take a minute.
A tournament is not an 82 gm season. We all know that. Plus there is more talented teams in NBA. Teams and players who play team ball win tournaments. That’s why Heat do well. My point is. He still put up to win the trophy. Gotta recognize that.
What do you mean. Look at his Atlanta stats. He did the same stats in the NBA. I think you need to come down and see the truth
Dillon Brooks greatest defensive player in the world ?
To me the top thing I saw. Was how Brooks looks. He looks leaner. And is playing better all around. I think he’s going to have big yr.
Opening Day very soon Let’s Go Knicks!!!!
RJ, Hart, Jalen should be in top shape. So I can see a good start this year. I’m still waiting for that trade. Yes !! Go NYK
Book it! Al says big year for Brooks. Another vague prediction from the oracle.
Big year !!!!
Leaner !!!!
You need that explained . Huh !!!!
This is a basketball board. You get that part yet.
“Big year” is a subjective term so, what are your parameters that determine a “big year” for Dillon Brooks? Without those terms, it is a vague statement.
It’s like saying “Del Harris was a good/bad basketball coach”. Unless there are objective parameters to that argument, it’s a subjective opinion of the individual making the declaration.
Anybody can make vague, subjective declarations. Go spend five minutes on Twitter. Or is it X?
You should try another sport lol …..
I’m talking about one specific player. You really think you are going to tell ME something. You must not know who Brooks is. Do you even understand what leaner means for a basketball player. Jokic got leaner and became MVP …….
Leaner is about best compliment you can pay a basketball player. Means better than top shape. Means true commitment to your body. And real commitment is what playing is all about. So therefore big year for this SPECIFIC player. Would mean his best yr so far.
Next time I’m charging to school you.
Dude I’m not here to argue over nonsense. I live ball. Plus I’m not even a Brooks fan. But I recognize true ability and commitment. And I’ve seen a big change in Brooks. When he has his big year for Rockets. You will understand. Then probably not ……
Had to chuckle at brooks little comment about the hate. Dude brings it on himself, and he seems baffled by it. It’s less about his actual play than his antics and mouth. Maybe shut up and the hate will dwindle a bit. But then, the attention might too, and he wouldn’t want that.
Unfortunately the team USA NBA players must to learn how to play defense; since Mr. Silver is the NBA-league president you can see a lot of offensive games, but a really poor defense; games scores of 110 points 120 or more is a plus for TV ratings and a show time but is not a fundamental basketball and at the end of this tournament everyone can see USA NBA players are not a defensive players.
That’s because AAU does not want defensive basketball games. There is no money in it.
There are some long time standing complaints about these AAU games in Las Vegas in June and what the future of the NBA game would be.
The all of it became true in the Memphis – Minny series. Even more so in the Orlando – Houston 22 summer leauge tip off game.
They did the things they were told that they had to do to make the pros. Defense and fundamentals aren’t apart of the equation.
You have to learn those things after you get drafted.
What set off Steve Kerr the person major rant against the players goes to what I just said.
The person whom caught it had no clue what he was talking about. There was no one he could call to ask, nor had seen it on TV anywhere.
AAU does not pay for any of those things to occur. It’s been like that for a long time now.
Winhorsdts crack about an NBA game broke out at the cup is extremely reflective of what I just said.
Vegas is spoiled when it comes to hoops from all over the world. I have been to a lot of games over a lot of years.
I have no idea what they are told about our style. The looks on their faces as they try to see what is, is always the same.
All this bouncing, hopping, spinning, shuffling, speeding around all over the place only exist in America.
We have long lost our ability to out athlete everyone on the way to winning gold. In a it’s a gold medal or nothing country that’s a bad thing.
It is that simple.
USA basketball needs to separate itself from the NBA establishment. The NBA game has become very different than the international game. They have similar roots, but the international game has stayed steadily true to those roots over the decades. Whereas, the NBA has constantly tinkered with the game to make it “better” for their business.
The USA basketball mechanics are fine. It just needs to be led by a group of people (largely full time) who know the international game, and thus know that NBA prowess (coaches or players) may or may not translate to their game. That type of group would probably have selected some different players (availability allowing). But they’d certainly have selected different coaches (regardless).
To me the USA issue has always been. They think they can just show up and win. And let’s face it. It’s not like that anymore.
Teams know they can’t matchup with talent. So they do it with team D, team O. Team familiarity and game management. They don’t fear USA anymore. So they just compete to win. And that’s what a tournament is all about. Not best talent that wins. It’s best Team.
Yes Al that’s the mentality today. That they can just show up and win. It aligns with the load management stuff.
I can play 40 regular season games and just show up in the playoffs ready to go. Doesn’t work that way mentally, preparation wise, familiarity with the team, and you’re even more likely to go down with something because you’re not in prime, well oiled, fluid, tested, condition. Great point Al, I agree.
USA players today want to be the best. To get paid. No Brons or Kobe’s around. It’s not just about a team game. You also have to want it. Players have to want to bury the competition. By any means. You need your facilitators. Your bigs for rebounding and rim protection. Your shooters and playmakers. And the talent to understand who’s who. It’s gotta be all about winning. It’s the only statement to make. Includes the coaching. Imo we had enough to win this. What we didn’t have enough of. Was the will and commitment to what it takes.
LeBron and Kobe are complete opposites. One goes by hard work and the other wants to get paid and look good
There’s something about “mentality” that everybody seems to be be ignoring…
When the U.S. wins a major tournament, nobody cares.
When any other country wins, those players become megastars.
The result is two entirely different mindsets and a huge gap in terms of dedication and effort.
I don’t know that there’s anything that USA Basketball can do to fix that. American players simply aren’t going to be as hyped as their opponents for an international tournament.
US players care more about money than their country. That is why most NBA stars did not play because if they get hurt it could mean 100s of millions. You know many NBA teams told their players not to go because they need them during the season to be 100%.
You are completely correct
A guy like Bron only wants to win. The Dream Team was probably best collection of winners ever. Other countries know we are their Mount Rushmore. They are at their best and bring their best. When they play us. USA may not be as psyched. But that’s not their problem. Coaches really are the ones that should have them prepared. It’s BS they don’t care enough. You are getting your Are kicked by a less talented team. That should bother a HS team. Truth is. It’s not easy to put a team together in a short time. But when you have ten times the talent as other nations. There’s no reason why you can’t play like the best team to win. Truth is not all young NBA players have learned how to win. That’s what we see here.
You are completely wrong with the lebron take
@DXC I agree with much of what you said , but even with the same coaches, an entire different group will be standing on the court in Paris next summer.
American NBA players are not interested in playing the FIBA game, because they aren’t raised in it. They know one way to play and to this point in time, it has been good enough to win 16 of 19 Golds. Will that change? Maybe, but my confidence will always be sky high for the U.S. when their best players suit up.
Of course, current NBA players play and develop to their rules, as they should. Just as past NBA players played and developed to theirs. It’s why comparing guys from different era’s should be done with some humility. But NBA players have different skill sets, and some of them will translate better to the international game than others. The goal should be to get the NBA players who are the best players for international play. Even if those guys aren’t the best NBA players.
I’m in no way bearish on USA basketball. I think we fixed the structural issues that led to continued failures in the early 2000’s culminating in 2004. For the foreseeable future I believe the US will always be the favorite in any international basketball tournament that we use any level of NBA players. But being good enough to always be the “hunted” is different that winning consistently as the hunted. If we want the latter, we have be more vigilant in our choices. NBA coaches and players have enough awards for NBA achievement; getting to play or coach our national team shouldn’t be one of them.
Well said. I couldn’t agree more.
This is all fine and dandy but going by the players that showed up for this tournament, the US doesn’t give a rip here. Let the world catch up let the world bang their drum and let the world have a few wins under their belt. The Olympics is where it’s at and that’s what matters. There might be three guys from this team that play in the olympics. That’s all you need to know.
@Gary bringing some rational thought into this. Nothing he said is “American Elitism”, just the way it has been and will likely continue to be.
For the U.S., they got what they wanted out of this tournament: they qualified for the Olympics and the coaches got to see the younger, less experienced players perform on an International stage.
They wanted to win it
Sure, in theory. Would have been better than losing, but if you read Kerr’s comments in full, sounds like him talking about an mid-season loss in January.
Kerr would not be my choice. I’d rather Spoelstra or Thibs. Guys who understand you can win playing both ways. All you do is make excuses for them. They are by far more talented from 1-12. Therefore should know they should win playing as a team.
Put Germany roster next to USA team roster. There is no way they should lose. It’s that simple ………
Kerr is not my first choice either, and he has Spoelstra on his staff so there’s that. And unless Thibs is a defensive assistant, no way. I don’t want him the head of anything basketball.
I personally have always liked college coaches running the USA show. They build their careers on tournament basketball and the college game is much closer to the international style of play. Somebody hand Mark Few the clipboard.
About the final statement you made there: Did you not learn anything from the 2004 Finals?
The US took their D-squad. Their A squad would have won by 50 points each game
Probably not that’s why the A team doesn’t show up
What a great outcome for basketball…
The US did way better than last world cup. I actually really liked the roster, though for 1 of the first times, I have to question some of the rotation decisions in certain matchups. I dont think Canada could have guarded Banchero at the 5, and I dont get why Cam Jonshon didnt play more. The US had great wing/4 depth, and didn’t really use it, and got beat in those areas. I also dont think Brunson made sense against the size across the board.
I will say the defense wasnt what it probably should have been with this roster either. They gave guys way too much space, didnt make them feel the US, and were terrible on close outs
I did think the officiating was a little one sided the last couple of quarters at least. They let Canada be more physical than they let the US, and officiated Dillon Brooks like he’s James Harden…
Finally, the missed FTs in big moments killed them. Bridges had that and 1, but then missed the FT to put them up 3, and then I think Edward’s also kissed a big FT near the end of regulation, both of those would have won the US the game. The frustrating sloppiness in OT mattered, but not much you can do about that
O and also, Tyrese Haliburton had 3 possessions that were the worst possessions I’ve ever seen him play, ever. He tried to be the hero for some reason, when he almost never plays like that. Granted, I saw him make a similar shot against the Heat, directly in front of me, at the end of a game last season, but that was a situation that made no sense to do on a stage like this when you have other options on the floor with you
NBA is weak. Now the SBA or NBE. It’s just entertainment like wrestling