Shortcomings on Worlds' stage part of U.S. team's history

ISTANBUL -- Basketball began as an American game, and 119 years after James Naismith first hung a peach basket at the Springfield, Mass., YMCA, the United States still has the best and deepest basketball talent in the world.

But when it comes to the FIBA World Championship, the U.S. has won just three times in 15 tries. Even though NBA players have been participating in international competition since 1992, the U.S. hasn't won the World Championship since '94.

The talent level around the world has increased dramatically since the Dream Team conquered Barcelona in '92. But when another country wins gold in basketball, it is looked at more as an American failure than as a triumph for that other nation.

As it heads into elimination play, beginning with a round-of-16 matchup with Angola on Monday (11 a.m. ET, ESPN), the 2010 edition of USA Basketball will look to avoid the fate of those World Championship squads that preceded them.

What exactly has gone wrong for the U.S. at the last three competitions? The answer is not simple, as each year was a unique scenario. Here's a look back...

Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich

1998 roster: Wendell Alexis, Ashraf Amaya, Mateen Cleaves (injured), Bill Edwards, Kiwane Garris, Michael Hawkins, Gerard King, Jimmy King, Trajan Langdon, Brad Miller, Jimmy Oliver, Jason Sasser, David Wood

Top 3 scorers: Jimmy Oliver, Wendell Alexis, Jason Sasser

Result: Bronze medal

The summer of 1998 brought a labor dispute that eventually cut 32 games off the '98-99 season. With NBA players not suiting up for the U.S. that year, this is one result blamed on a lack of talent, rather than a lack of preparation, teamwork, or respect for international competition.

Instead of NBA stars, USA Basketball's team in Indianapolis was a squad of college players (Trajon Langdon and Brad Miller were the youngest players on the team), CBA players (including Jason Sasser and the Fab Five's Jimmy King) and overseas guys (like former NBA journeyman David Wood). They performed surprisingly well, losing just two games by a total of four points.

In the semifinal against Russia, the U.S. had a 10-point lead late in the game, but couldn't hold on. The U.S. then went on to beat Greece handily to win the bronze medal.

Coach: George Karl

2002 roster: Elton Brand, Antonio Davis, Baron Davis, Michael Finley, Raef LaFrentz, Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Jay Williams, Nick Collison (alternate)

Top 3 scorers: Paul Pierce, Michael Finley, Andre Miller

Result: Sixth place

This was easily the worst performance by a group of NBA players in international competition, but George Karl's team was closer to a medal than you might think.

After preparing for the tournament for less than two weeks, the U.S. won its first five games by an average of 31.6 points, but then dropped a second-round game to Argentina. The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals, but had to face a strong Yugoslavia team (now Serbia). They led by 10 points with six minutes to go, but Yugoslavia quickly came back with an 18-4 run, which included three 3-pointers from Milan Gurovic.

Down three with 10 seconds left in the game, the U.S. failed to set a screen for its best shooter, Reggie Miller. When Miller got the ball, he didn't even look at the basket. He passed the ball back to point guard Andre Miller, whose 3-point attempt fell short as the buzzer sounded. Yugoslavia shot less than 40 percent from the field for the game, but hit 10 of its 17 attempts from 3-point range.

Yugoslavia went on to win the gold medal with easier wins over New Zealand (which the U.S. had defeated by 48 points earlier in the tournament) and Argentina. The U.S. beat Puerto Rico in the consolation bracket before losing to Spain to finish sixth. In their nine games, they had an average margin of victory of 16.9 points. Had a couple of extra possessions gone their way against Yugoslavia, 2002 might be remembered differently.

Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

2006 roster: Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade

Top 3 scorers: Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James

Result: Bronze medal

This was the first year of Jerry Colangelo's new era of USA Basketball, and while improvements were made across the board, the system was still in its infancy and the scouting department wasn't quite up to speed yet.

The U.S. got a scare from Italy in pool play, but otherwise rolled into the semifinals, where it faced undefeated Greece. The U.S. led by 12 points four minutes into the second quarter, but the difference in the game was the next 16 minutes, when Greece outscored the Americans 52-32.

Pick-and-roll defense was the main problem, and it seemed like Greece couldn't miss a shot over those 16 minutes (they shot 63 percent for the game). The U.S. team's bigs also let the Greek bigs beat them down the floor and establish position under the basket too easily. The U.S. took bad shots, didn't hit its free throws (20-for-34 for the game) and just panicked under pressure.

In the Colangelo-Krzyzewski era, the U.S. is 31-1 in competition through Thursday's win against Tunisia. That loss to Greece is the only blemish on the record, and it remains the blueprint for how to beat the Americans.

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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