OrlandoMagic.com’s Josh Cohen offers his rankings on a range of topics on the Magic and the rest of the NBA.
#6 2004 in Athens
ROSTER: Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, Richard Jefferson, LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony & Emeka Okafor
It was apparent early on in the tournament that Team USA had taken a step back as the rest of the world was improving. They lost the opener to Puerto Rico, fell to Lithuania a few games in and were knocked out of gold medal contention with a stunning defeat to Argentina, which ultimately won the gold.
Like it was four years prior, many of the NBA’s elite chose not to participate and the U.S. were forced to compete with a plethora of B-level talent. LeBron, Wade & Melo were on the roster, but because they were so young and inexperienced, they did not earn much playing time.
This disappointment served as a wakeup call for Team USA, which obviously returned to dominance four years later.
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