Quote from: Naida_BR on August 19, 2019, 06:33:11 PM

Quote from: guoyu78 on August 19, 2019, 04:50:36 PM

USA is still the best team in the cup for sure but this season a lot of players didn't come because of injury risk, not because business decision, not because coaching staff, it was all because injury risk, they play 82 games a year plus playoffs for some of them and they play a much faster pace of basketball now, specially this year the offensive ratings were insanely high, we have seen increase of injured players and even so much that it impacted who became the champions, so that resting players is actually a good decision in NBA regular season let alone making them work in USA national team camps.

Other nations players do come play for those teams because they are the difference makers, if Boban and Jokic withdraws Serbia has no chance at all, when Lebron or Durant doesn't go they still have Kemba or Kuzma which is definitely still better than what alternative is for other nations.

Well, you are right and wrong at the same time.
Indeed, there is an injury risk... But there are a lot of players who play in NBA and they are not American. Yet, they are allowed to play in the World Cup. Don't they have the same injury risk as the players of the USA? It is just team decisions that raise barriers on that.

It is just different mentality.

I don't know how it is in other parts of the world, but here in Europe national team is something very important to everyone that likes the sport. So it is normal that those players, that are raised in those countries also care about the national team and success, knowing how much joy they can bring, and how much people in their countries care.I currently live in Athens, and even though i'm not Greek, it is hard not to admire how people here love watching their basketball team, everything stops when Greece plays.

And that is why both Giannis and Jokic will play for their national teams despite heavy schedule last season, injury risks etc.And same thing Nowitzki did for years before them.While Nikos Galis was on another level, refusing an offer to play with Celtics and win few titles so he can keep playing for Greece.