Days of USA’s basketball dominance on the international stage may be nearing an end, according to former NBA star Ray Allen.
While conducting basketball clinics at the NBA Academy in India, the two-time NBA champion told reporters he thinks Team USA will struggle in 2028 when the Olympics land in Los Angeles.
“I guarantee you that by 2028, it’s going to be stiffer for the Americans to say that we’re the best country in the world at basketball,” Allen said, per indianexpress.com. “If you look at the leagues in Europe, there are a lot of kids coming up that are going to be way better than American players. Which is a great thing for the sport.”
Allen won a gold medal for Team USA back in 2000 and then four years later, the team fell short, taking home the bronze medal at the ’04 Olympic Games in Athens. That was the last time Team USA didn’t win gold in the Olympics. Allen also noted that the top three players in MVP voting this past season—Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo—are all international players.
It’s clear that basketball has grown on an international scale, but only time will tell if Team USA will finally be usurped as the world leader in the sport.
