USA Basketball: Which Players Will Benefit The Most?
USA Basketball has a history of helping players take their game up a level. Who are the players with the most to gain in their experience with Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics?
For one reason or another, NBA players have a history of making a leap in their careers after joining USA Basketball’s national team.
The phenomenon could be due to USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo and his selection committee picking players on the rise. It could be due to players playing at a high competitive level while their peers aren’t practicing daily and are instead playing in Pro-Am’s such as the Drew League.
Some players are notorious for playing themselves into shape throughout the long NBA season. Starting their season a few months earlier gives them a head start to getting into peak shape.
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It could also be explained by some of the great players in the game being around each other for a few weeks, learning from each other as LeBron James did when he saw Kobe Bryant’s work ethic when the two were teammates on the 2008 Olympic team, motivating James to spend more time working on his game because he knew Bryant was pushing himself to play at another level.
It could also be just being in a great basketball situation that allows players to be in the best position for themselves while playing for a great coach.
For whatever reason, it’s a real thing. In 2014, the good folks at FiveThirtyEight.com examined the theory that players get a boost from playing with USA Basketball and came to the conclusion that historically, players do improve in the season after participating for Team USA.
Some of the players on the 2016 incarnation of Team USA seem like great candidates to see a career boost going forward.
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