A few days ago, David Stern said that he doesn't want NBA players participating in the Olympics anymore. He said that he would prefer to use soccer's model, where the main focus is the World Cup and the under-23 national teams play in the Olympics. David Stern is an idiot. If NBA players aren't participating in the 2016 Olympics, it would be a colossal mistake.
One of the reasons (in fact, probably the reason) basketball has become so popular worldwide is precisely because NBA players started participating in the Olympics. Twenty years ago when the "Dream Team" went to Barcelona, they were rock stars. Everyone was in awe. Even the players on the opposing teams couldn't believe they were on the same floor as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The tournament wasn't even close.
The "Dream Team" was great for the growth of basketball. In fact, a mere 12 years later, the U.S. sent a team of NBA stars to Athens, and they lost twice, settling for the bronze. (By the way, this came after an even more embarrassing sixth-place finish at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis.) You can offer any number of excuses for the embarrassing results in Indianapolis and Athens, but the reason everybody conveniently ignores is that the rest of the world has gotten better. There's no guarantee that the even the NBA's best can just show up and win anymore. Take the 2006 World Championships in Japan. That U.S. team cared/tried and still ended up third after losing to Greece in the semifinals.
My point is this: the U.S. needs to send its best possible team to the Olympics. If the best teams in the world are competitive with a team full of NBA players, how is an under-23 team supposed to stand a chance? Unless he gets FIBA to change the tournament rules, there's no stopping NBA players from other nations representing their national teams. If Manu Ginobili wants to play for Argentina or Spain asks Pau Gasol to play, there's no way Stern can stop them. But those national teams don't consist entirely of NBA players, which is why only the U.S. team would be affected by Stern's plan.
He's also neglecting two other points that are very important. First, the Olympic soccer tournament sucks. The senior national teams used to play in the Olympics in soccer. And when FIFA switched it to a junior tournament, there were a number of factors that were considered. (The European Championships are FIFA's second-biggest event, and they're always in an Olympic year. It was impossible for European players to do both.) In women's soccer, the senior national teams play because that sport needs the attention an Olympics brings.
But more importantly, the NBA players don't care about the World Championships. They care about the Olympics. After the bronze in 2004, USA Basketball changed its model, asking players to make a four-year committment to both the World Championships and Olympics. Everybody was on board, and the 2006 World Championships team (that took bronze) was one of the best the U.S. has ever assembled. All of those guys wanted to play in Beijing and knew that playing in Japan was part of the deal. And the team that went to Beijing was ridiculous! Out of those 12 players, do you know how many didn't back out of the 2010 World Championships for one reason or another? ONE! It was an entirely different team that went to Turkey two years ago, and if not for Kevin Durant deciding he wanted to win the World Championship, the U.S. wouldn't have come close to the gold medal. But now that we're back to the Olympics, all of those core players from Beijing can't wait to wear the red, white and blue again.
Without NBA players, the Olympic basketball tournament loses its high-profile status. Sure, it would still be cool to see the college guys again, like pre-1992, but would that really be for the good of the game? American fans deserve the best team USA Basketball can put out there. If the rules allow for that team to consist of NBA players, that's who should be on the team. Especially if other countries are sending their NBA guys. David Stern can use injury concerns or whatever as his reasoning for being opposed to NBA players in the Olympics, but he's wrong.
One of the reasons baseball was dropped from the Olympics is because they couldn't get Major League players to participate. The NHL hasn't committed to sending its players to Sochi in 2014. I hope they realize taking the two-week break and sending the pros is better for the sport. Just like NBA players in the Summer Olympics (when, unlike the hockey players, they aren't in the middle of the season) is good for the sport. No matter what David Stern thinks.
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