USA Basketball Team - is it Going to Win the Gold Medals in 2008 Olympics?

I guess we all remember the original Dream Team which dominated all other teams in the 1992 Olympic Games. That team was probably the best basketball team ever and included legendary players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and many more. They showed everyone where the best basketball in the world was (I guess that still is) played. 1994 and 1996 teams were also great and they captured the gold medals easily. In 2000 Olympics USA team was starting to lose its power. Although they still won the first place, their triumph was not so convincing. As the years went by more and more all-star players refused to play for the national team and USA have not won any major tournament since 2000.

USA basketball team was tested in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament and it passed the test by beating everyone including Argentina (118-81) on its way to the first place. The lineup featured NBA all stars and they lived up to the expectations. They came up with great individual performances, unselfish teamwork and red hot shooting. That roster has changed but I guess that it has changed for good.

USA will never be able to combine a basketball team which could be compared to 1992 team but this 2008 team looks very impressive. It has everything starting from great defensive players (Tayshaun Prince, Jason Kidd), brilliant passers (Chris Paul, Deron Williams), all star scorers (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James) to super-athletic big men (Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer). American players always have stronger bodies and greater upsides than their opponents and if Howard will cure his micro-injury then the Howard-Boozer-Bosh frontline is going to look scary. USA must play its best game to recapture the Olympic title and I think that the chances for them are good.

USA plays in group B together with Angola, China, reigning world champion Spain and two qualifiers. 12 teams are still fighting for an Olympic berth and only 3 of them will succeed. The favorites are Greece, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Puerto Rico and Brazil, and it is most likely that the two qualifier national teams which will play against USA in group B are going to be among them but we can never know for sure. I doubt that NBA players will meet any difficulties to beat Angola and China is not a very powerful opponent also. China national team has never been able to occupy a position higher than 8th in World Championships or Olympic games. Of course Yao is a serious power in the paint but I would suggest being more afraid of Pau Gasol. Spain is the main rival of the Americans during the group stage and maybe the whole tournament. With its organized playing style Spain is supposed to be a great thread to this NBA all star team and lets not forget about the two qualifiers, maybe USA will have to face Greece - the team which eliminated Americans from the FIBA World Championships just 2 years ago.

And in the end my prediction is that USA will capture the gold medals by beating Argentina with a rather big point margin in the final game. I predict that USA will win every game and the only tight game will be against Spain in group stage. I think that the leading scorer will be Carmelo Anthony; leading rebounder - Dwight Howard; leading passer - Chris Paul. Yes, maybe I am a bit too optimistic but I believe that this year USA will show everyone who rules the basketball world. Good luck!

NBA Draft history - the best draft picks since 1980

Basketball place has made top 3 lists comparing the players selected with first seven picks during the last 28 years.

Top 3 players selected with the:

Nr. 1 pick:
1) Shaquille O`neal (1992)
2) Hakeem Olajuwon (1984)
3) Tim Duncan (1997)

Pretty hard to compare those 3 legendary big men because they all have more than 1 championship ring, they all have received the finals MVP award more than 1 time, they all have won at least 1 regular season MVP trophy and they all were dominant during their prime years. However I have chosen to give Shaq the 1st place. I did not put LeBron on the list because he is still too young and have not achieved anything much yet. Other great players like Iverson, Ewing, David Robinson, Webber and many more did not make the top 3 too.


Nr. 2 pick:
1) Isiah Thomas (1981)
2) Jason Kidd (1994)
3) Gary Payton (1990)

If all 3 top number one picks are big men then in contradistinction to that all 3 top number two picks are guards. Thomas, Kidd and Payton are great passers and they all rank in the top 7 all time leaders in total assists. Unfortunately I did not find a place in top 3 for Alonzo Mourning.





Nr. 3 pick:
1) Micheal Jordan (1984)
2) Dominique Wilkins (1982)
3) Kevin McHale (1980)

I guess that no one is going to argue with me about giving the first place to MJ and giving the second to Dominique but it was hard to choose the third place winner. I could choose Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Chauncey Billups, Baron Davis, Sean Elliott, Carmelo Anthony and many more great players but I went for the good old McHale - nevertheless he is a hall of famer.






Nr. 4 pick:
1) Dikembe Mutombo (1991)
2) Glen Rice (1989)
3) Rasheed Wallace (1995)









Nr. 5 pick:
1) Charles Barkley (1984)
2) Scottie Pippen (1987)
3) Kevin Garnett (1995)






Nr. 6 pick:
1) Kenny Smith (1987)
2) Antoine Walker (1996)
3) Tom Gugliotta (1992)







Nr. 7 pick:
1) Chris Mullin (1985)
2) Kevin Johnson (1987)
3) Richard Hamilton (1999)

Top 5 2008 NBA draft prospects.

1. Micheal Beasley (Chicago Bulls)

Position: Forward

Height/Weight: 6-10 / 235

Birthdate: January 9, 1989

High School: Notre Dame Prep

College: Kansas St.

2. Derick Rose (Miami Heat)

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6-3 / 190

Birthdate: October 4, 1988

High School: Simeon Career Academy

College: Memphis

3. Jerryd Bayless (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6-3 / 200

Birthdate: August 20, 1988

High School: St. Mary’s HS

College: Arizona

4.O. J. Mayo (Seattle SuperSonics)

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6-5 / 200

Birthdate: November 5, 1987

High School: Huntington HS

College: Southern California

5.Brook Lopez (Memphis Grizzlies)

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 7-0 / 260

Birthdate: April 1, 1988

High School: San Joaquin Memorial HS

College: Stanford

Some interesting facts about the 2008 Finals

* The 39-point victory for the Celtics in game 6 is the greatest margin of victory in a clinching game in the NBA finals.
* Ray Allen tied a single-game Finals three-pointers record with 7 in game 6.
* Ray Allen established a new NBA finals record for 3-pointers made with 22.
* The Celtics set a single-game Finals record with 18 steals in game 6.
* The Celtics and the Lakers have accounted for exactly a half of all the championship trophies in NBA history (31 out 62 possible).
* The Celtics became only the third team in NBA history to win a league championship after missing the playoffs in the previous season.
* Celtics 13 home wins throughout the 2008 playoffs are a new NBA record.
* Phil Jackson managed to set an NBA record during the 2008 playoffs with 193 career playoff wins.
* The Celtics played 26 games in this years playoffs and that is a new NBA record.
* The Celtics set a new NBA record by making 52 3-pointers in the Finals.

Celtics take the crown

The legendary Boston Celtics have won their first title since 1986 when they beat the Houston Rockets 4:2. The LA Lakers were the favorites before the finals but at the end they turned out to be no match against Celtics defense. The Celtics grabbed the first two games at home but third game was won by the Lakers. The Lakers were up by as much as 24 during the crucial game 4 but the Celtics managed to comeback and win the game 97:91. Then the Lakers grabbed one at home in a tight game but the sixth game was surprisingly one-sided as the Celtics won 131:92. These series were full of emotions, furious comebacks, great individual performances and classic feelings. Eventually Paul Pierce earned the MVP trophy.