Who is the most important player on the 2008 Men’s Team USA Basketball team

Why do I keep reading online, in newspapers and I even see it on tv, that being different responces to who is the most important player on Team USA? Is it Jason Kidd who couldn’t get the Mavericks past the Hornets in the first round of the playoffs in 2008. Is Carmelo Anthony who hasn’t been able to get his Nuggets out of the first round of the playoffs during his entire career. Is it Kobe Bryant who has always had an ego bigger than his game and that’s saying a lot because he is a great player. Kobe always being the player who wanted to be traded last year and helped Shaq move on to Miami were he eventually ended up winning a ring. Then there is Lebron James who in my eyes shows the qualities of a true leader and is able to play almost every position on the court.  Would Team USA be able to win the gold medal without Lebron, probably but it would be a whole lot easier with him.

There is no way to prove who is truly invaluable on the team USA roster but it is clear to see that Team USA has a much better roster than it did in 2004. Carmelo, Wade and Lebron all play in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens but, they were just rookies at the time. However even though Lebron and Carmelo were rookies during those games, they were much better than the people who took there starting spot and even the off the bench spot at the small forward position.  Which players you may ask played small forward on that 2004 squad? None other than Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion, two high flyers who like to run the floor but, they didn’t have the natural abilites to play the game like Lebron and to a lesser extent Carmelo.

This 2004 team also had big names like Lamar Odom, Stephon Marbury and Emeka Okafor so you knew this team was going to be good. So right now if you have done a little background check you are mostly likely saying to yourself, well that team had Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson on it. True they did have Duncan and Iverson on that team but the 2000 team had players like Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Gary Payton in their prime. This 2000 squad also had the likes of Allan Houston, Shareef Abur-Rahim and Vin Baker, all good players but none of them ever consistenly made the All Star team in the NBA.

That 2000 team barely sqeaked out a gold medal and then in 2002 they put together one of a bunch of risining stars and hoped that they would be able to beat the best in the world. What was the head of Team USA basketball thinking, let’s test the waters and hopefully this team doesn’t get eaten alive? What were Raef LAfrentz, Antonio Davis and Jay Williams doing on that team, did George Karl(head coach of that team) think that he should have a bunch of medicore players on his team to even out the competition. The biggest name on that team was Reggie Miller, Elton Brand, Paul Pierce and Baron Davis turned out to be great players but, at that time they weren’t that good.

That leaves us with the 2006 world championships were Team USA placed 3rd again. They had Lebron, Wade and Carmelo actually playing this time but had players like Brad Miller, Kirk Hinrich and Shane Battier helping them out. I understand that coach Mike Krzyzewski likes his Duke boys but, please those Kirk and Shane didn’t belong on that team. I guess Coach K thought that in the past lesser known players have been able to go to the world championships and pick up a Gold. Then the big names can drop by come olympics time well rested and crusie to a gold medal. This didn’t work out in 2002 and didn’t work in 2006, the world has gotten better at basketball and playing it the right way. That way being pass first, play defense and use the pick and roll to perfection. Simple basketball which wins ball games and the USA knows they have to play this way to win Gold. They have the talent they just have to remember that they have to play unselfish and play like a team and not a bunch of All Stars looking to get on the highlight reel. I think they have the right attitude but it only takes one player to ruin the whole team concept.