fiba world championships

[xubrew]

is anyone even remotely interested in this??

after doing some research, i was surprised to see that the usa has only won this event three times (1954, 1986, 1994). i guess i was under the false impression that we'd won pretty much all of them.

it doesn't appear to me that we take this all that seriously. we love our basketball in the united states, probably moreso than any other country, but aren't all that jazzed up about this. some of the best players in the nba aren't even playing (kobe, lebron, etc). i know it's a different sport, but you'd never see the best soccer players not playing for their countries in the world cup.

i'm not really complaining, because i'm not taking it all that seriously. i care way more about the start of the college season than i do about this. i just find it kind of curious that as popular and as good as basketball is, the national team is not front page news to most people, and several of the country's best players aren't even playing.

[smileyy]

The FIBA World Championships are a distant second fiddle to the Olympics.

[GuyFawkes38]

In soccer, the leagues seem much more flexible on allowing players to take time off to participate in international events (world cup, euro cup, copa americana). Are the leagues forced to do that? I would love to see more attention given to international bball events like this. But that would mean that the NBA would have to be more flexible with allowing players to take time off or cutting the number of games, which seems like a big hurdle.

I guess the simple answer is that the demand, while rapidly growing internationally, still isn't quite there.

Anyways, I'll watch it. Lots of NBA players will be out, especially internationally. Regardless, lots of top NBA players will play on the US team (I'm pumped to see Kevin Durant, who's never on TV). Suddenly, American players feel like it's really important to be on the team (sort of like being part of the top clique....and as Kobe showed, it's a really good PR move).

Despite the clear talent advantage, I've heard the US won't be favorites.

The international game is a strange beast. Parts of it reminds me more of college than NBA. I like it.

[SixFig]

Amazes me how David West isn't on the team.

Really? Danny Granger, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom and Jeff Green are all better forwards than D West?

Sans David West, I am not watching. He's the only reason I watch the All-Star Game too.

[xubrew]

In soccer, the leagues seem much more flexible on allowing players to take time off to participate in international events (world cup, euro cup, copa americana). Are the leagues forced to do that?

i only know basically how this works, so i apologize in advance for any inaccuracies, but fifa is one single governing body that encompasses both international play and many (most) club leagues as well.

if a national soccer team is playing in an event that isn't a friendly (world cup, world cup qualifying, confederations cup, etc) the clubs must release them to play. this is also the case for a country's confederaton's championship. by that i mean for england, they can play in the euros and the euro qualifying. for the united states, it's gold cup and gold cup qualifying. however, if the united states is invited to play in another confederation's championship, such as copa america, the clubs are NOT required to release the players. that's one of the reasons why the united states did rather poorly in 2007 copa america. we basically had our B team out there against the likes of argentina (not that we would have beaten them anyway) clubs are also not required to release players for friendlies.

having said all that, most club leagues work their schedules around international play. they'll either schedule a break in league play, or have the league conclude by a certain date so as to not overlap international play.

i have no idea how basketball works. i know 24 countries make it to the basketball version of the world cup. i know that the usa automatically qualified because we won the olympics. i know we've won it three times. that's really all i know. i don't know if the lakers or the heat can keep kobe or lebron from playing or not. no idea.

[D-West & PO-Z]

i only know basically how this works, so i apologize in advance for any inaccuracies, but fifa is one single governing body that encompasses both international play and many (most) club leagues as well.

if a national soccer team is playing in an event that isn't a friendly (world cup, world cup qualifying, confederations cup, etc) the clubs must release them to play. this is also the case for a country's confederaton's championship. by that i mean for england, they can play in the euros and the euro qualifying. for the united states, it's gold cup and gold cup qualifying. however, if the united states is invited to play in another confederation's championship, such as copa america, the clubs are NOT required to release the players. that's one of the reasons why the united states did rather poorly in 2007 copa america. we basically had our B team out there against the likes of argentina (not that we would have beaten them anyway) clubs are also not required to release players for friendlies.

having said all that, most club leagues work their schedules around international play. they'll either schedule a break in league play, or have the league conclude by a certain date so as to not overlap international play.

i have no idea how basketball works. i know 24 countries make it to the basketball version of the world cup. i know that the usa automatically qualified because we won the olympics. i know we've won it three times. that's really all i know. i don't know if the lakers or the heat can keep kobe or lebron from playing or not. no idea.

The NBA teams can keep a player from playing. The Knicks are not allowing Amare to participate.

[GuyFawkes38]

Crazy. So Fifa has a lot of power.

Well, it's in the NBA interests for the international game to grow. Hopefully NBA teams loosen up a bit when it comes to summer bball.

[smileyy]

I wouldn't let a player with Amar'e's injury history put more miles on his body if I'd just signed him to a 5-year contract. He's just hitting the wrong side of his athletic peak.

I also don't think the global basketball competitive scene needs to the US to be driving it. It's pretty healthy already, and providing a ton of talent to the NBA.

[xubrew]

Crazy. So Fifa has a lot of power.



yes, and they seemingly focus it all on the mundane...

[LutherRackleyRulez]

2010 FIBA World Championship For Men -- Just The Facts




http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/national/just_the_facts.html

[LutherRackleyRulez]

A quick video primer on each of the national teams

competing in Turkey.....





http://www.fibatv.com/page/Video/0,,12805,00.html