Team USA Basketball’s Stunning Loss to Lithuania

By Will Romano

On Sunday, September 3, 2023, an unusual event transpired. Team USA basketball, a

dominant force in international basketball who are winners of 16 of the 19 olympic tournaments they
have participated in, suffered a 104-110 loss to Lithuania in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
While this tournament is not the same as the olympic tournament set to take place in 2024, this loss,
and the numerous factors lying behind it, reveal deep issues not just for this 2023 FIBA team, but for
the olympic teams to come as well.
This loss to Lithuania is the first one for team USA in the 2023 competition, but it displayed a
huge potential downfall lurking in the structure of their team. Put simply, no one on team USA can
grab a board. Looking at the overall team statistics might not reveal this fully, as the US ranks in the top
ten in rebounds per game according to FIBA’s stat tracking. However, proper analysis of this requires a
bit more nuance. Lithuania has been the best rebounder so far in the tournament, and they beat the
US handily on the glass with a total of 43 boards to the US’s total of 27. Lithuania is also the only
opponent the US has faced in the tournament that is in the top 5 in rebounds per game. The only
other respectable rebounding team they matched up against was Montenegro, who they defeated
85-73. However, a quick look at the rebounding statistics from that game show that the US was
out-rebounded 31-49 overall and a mind boggling 8-23 on the offensive glass. When facing teams with
more talent overall than Montenegro, that rebounding disparity will come back to haunt them, as
shown in their game against Lithuania.
A fantastic question to ask about this entire situation is: why? Why, for a country that has been
so dominant in the very near past and is home to the world’s premier basketball association in the
NBA, is there this huge disparity in a major aspect of the game? There are two different answers to that
question.
First, Worldwide basketball talent is increasing dramatically to the point where it is becoming
more difficult to maintain the view that team USA will win every tournament due to the gap in talent.
Evidence of this can be found everywhere, but an easily noticeable example would be the NBA’s MVP
award. The MVP (Most Valuable Player) award is given to the best performing player of the regular
season, and for the last five years that honor has gone to an internationally born player. Joel Embiid
from Cameroon, Nikola Jokic from Serbia, and Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece have all been
evaluated as better performers than anyone from the US. Another small thing to note is that all three of
these players are big men, two being centers and one a power forward, who are dominant on the glass.
In fact, only two out of the top ten rebounders in the NBA last season were players that would
represent team USA in the tournament.
 Secondly, the zeal for players from the US to represent their country in tournaments is arguably
less than it has ever been. While this current tournament is not the Olympics themselves, the roster
assembled is far from what is commonly believed to be the top-end talent in the US. Also, past olympic
teams such as the 2008 “redeem team”, who were set out to redeem the US’s name after a bronze medal
in the 2004 Olympics, inspired the best of the US born players to join the teams resulting in four
straight Olympic gold medals. It might take a huge loss in the main olympic tournament for the best
US players available to join consistently again.
The FIBA 2023 tournament is still far from over, and the US is still the favorite to win the
tournament as of September 4, 2023, but a surprising loss like this one cannot occur without an
explanation. Whether it's just foreign big men getting more rebounds, or the US talent not showing
up, there are several issues that need to be resolved before the 2024 Olympics.
 Works Cited

Team statistics of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. FIBA.basketball. (n.d.).
https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/teamstats

Season leaders: Stats. Season Leaders | Stats | NBA.com. (n.d.).

https://www.nba.com/stats/leaders?StatCategory=REB

Sam Quinn Sep 4. (2023, September 4). 2023 FIBA World Cup Power Rankings: Why Germany, not
Team USA, stands out entering quarterfinals. CBSSports.com.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2023-fiba-world-cup-power-rankings-why-germany-no
t-team-usa-stands-out-entering-quarterfinals/