A Look Back at the USA Basketball World Cup Team 2019 Performance and Results

I still remember walking into the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center for our opening game against the Czech Republic back in 2019. The atmosphere felt electric in a way I hadn't experienced before in international basketball. Looking back at that USA Basketball World Cup team now, what strikes me most isn't just the final seventh-place finish—our worst in major international competition—but the unique environment we competed in. The quote from our team sessions keeps coming back to me: "It's more exciting and exhilarating. In the stadium, you are so far away from everyone. You are usually isolated. But in here, you really feel the love and support from everyone." That sentiment perfectly captured our experience in China, even as we fell short of expectations.

We entered the tournament with what many called our "B-team" after several top players withdrew, yet I genuinely believed we had enough talent to compete. Our roster featured emerging stars like Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 13.1 points per game, and Kemba Walker, who led us with 14.4 points per contest. What people don't realize is how quickly we had to build chemistry—most of us had played together for barely a month before the tournament began. The conventional wisdom says Team USA should dominate regardless of roster changes, but international basketball has evolved dramatically. Teams like Argentina and Spain featured players who'd been competing together for years in their national systems, while we were essentially building from scratch during our training camp in Las Vegas.

I'll never forget the palpable shift after our loss to France in the quarterfinals. We'd been leading by seven points with under eight minutes remaining, but Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert took over down the stretch. That 89-79 defeat marked the first time a USA team with NBA players lost in the World Cup since 2006. The isolation we felt in that moment was profound—not just from American fans watching from thousands of miles away, but from the expectations we carried. What made it particularly tough was knowing how close we came to winning despite not playing our best basketball.

The Serbia game that followed was arguably our lowest point. We suffered our second consecutive loss, this time 94-89, in the classification round. I remember looking around the locker room afterward and seeing the frustration on everyone's faces. We knew we were better than seventh place, but the tournament doesn't care about your roster circumstances or what might have been. The court felt incredibly distant from everything we were used to—the NBA arenas with their familiar routines, the home crowds, the comfort of established team dynamics.

But here's what most analysts missed about that experience: the genuine connection we developed with Chinese basketball fans. During our game against Poland in the classification round, when we finally found our rhythm and won by 14 points, the energy in the arena was incredible. The Chinese fans embraced us with an enthusiasm that transcended national loyalties. That "change of scenery" the quote mentioned—it became something truly special. Instead of the pressure-cooker environment we expected, we discovered arenas filled with fans who simply loved basketball, who appreciated the game itself regardless of which country the players represented.

Our final standing of seventh place looks disappointing on paper, and frankly, it was. We scored an average of 87.4 points per game while allowing 78.1—respectable numbers, but not the dominant margins people expect from Team USA. What the statistics don't show is how the game has globalized. Eight NBA players competed for other national teams in that tournament, including four on the Spanish championship squad. The gap has clearly narrowed, and that's actually good for basketball worldwide, even if it makes our job more challenging.

The lessons from that 2019 performance have undoubtedly shaped how USA Basketball approaches international competition now. We learned that team construction matters more than simply collecting talent, that international experience counts, and that the rest of the world isn't just catching up—they've arrived. Personally, I believe that disappointing finish ultimately strengthened the program's commitment to sending our best players to Tokyo, where we reclaimed gold, and will likely influence how we approach future World Cups.

Sometimes in sports, the most valuable experiences come from moments that don't end with medals around your necks. The 2019 World Cup taught us about resilience, about adapting to unfamiliar circumstances, and about finding joy in the game even when results don't go your way. That connection with Chinese fans, that sense of being part of basketball's global community—that's what I'll carry with me long after the final standings fade from memory. The tournament reminded me why I fell in love with this game in the first place, and sometimes, that perspective is worth more than any trophy.