Many countries have tried & failed to take the title of World's Best Basketball Nation from the USA, not even Canada who made the game are capable of matching the USA. Yugoslavia were probably the second best basketball nation in the world after the USA before disintegration. Currently, Spain are FIBA Basketball World Cup champions but the USA are still Olympic champions. I think Spain's success is down to their belief that their nation can, more importantly, Spanish blood can more than actual ability or talent because pound-for-pound USA likely has more talent than Spain & USA still leads the FIBA rankings. Taller & more athletic countries tend to do well in basketball hence Nigeria & Brazil are among the best in the world but with organised team sports, it takes more than athleticism & physique to be victorious. So what can a country do to succeed following the USA blueprint?
1) TALENT IDENTIFICATION STRUCTURES: I've never been to the USA but I've seen their structures & I know Jerry Maguire is a movie but I think it's based on the real athlete management industry of the USA. From primary school to high school, stats are taken of the best performing scholars in a sport & the best across the country are given scholarships or bursaries in their studies. I think this helps the USA two-fold, it ensures that there are plenty physically fit as well as mentally competent successful people in the USA to improve their land. Basketball, as a sport there, is no different. Primary school kids are trained during Physical Education class & continue to be monitored during high school, stats are taken at afterschool sports to analyse play. So you are, in fact, more likely to be a professional in the USA sports system if you are genuinely good at a sport than any other country in the world. In South Africa, we just do not have this, the best sporting talents are drunk on the street somewhere because no one gives a damn.
2) BASKETBALL IN THE USA IS PART OF STREET CULTURE: We've all seen how basketball is part of pop culture in the USA as well as Gridiron football & baseball to some extent. Everyone plays it, all the kids want to play it, they've mastered the art of making it a watchable & marketable product through hype & branding. What they know is simple, street culture sells. Everyone wants to be cool & basketball is seen as cool.
3) THE BEST ARE ALWAYS CHOSEN INDISCRIMINATELY: I can't even begin to explain how much a disadvantage big-bellied nepotist mafias are to a national sport & it's related industry, they virtually grind everything to a halt. It's really sad to see. Many sport fans (in countries with national sports controlled by such mafias) often don't see what happens behind the scenes with the murky politics of their sports while busy cheering for a team & it's best players. Compare this to the USA sports system again where the best & not the boss' favourites are selected. Over time, even if the USA was really bad at a sport; because they are so adamant at choosing the best without bias or discrimination, they eventually become almost exponentially better at a certain sport than a country with corrupt mafia governance that has that sport as it's national sport.
0) POPULATION: This is something smaller countries can do nothing about but just focus on number 3) above. The USA is among the most populous countries in the world with basketball as one of their top three most liked sports so the pool of talent is far larger than most countries.
The above three points, ignoring number 0) because it's not something we can control, are why I believe the USA is better than any other country in basketball & will continue to be in the next decade or two.
