USA Basketball recently announced the 20 finalists who will compete for the 12 spots on the senior men’s national team that will represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Among the finalists are holdovers from the 2008 gold-medal winning team in Beijing: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, [...]

Since stunning a United States team loaded with NBA players in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis and capturing the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Argentina has been universally recognized as a powerhouse in FIBA competition. Led by San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, arguably Argentina’s greatest player, the South Americans have been a [...]

Pau Gasol took the brunt of the criticism during the 2011 NBA playoffs when the Lakers were swept out of the second round by eventual champion Dallas. Gasol didn’t play his best during the series, and at one point he appeared so out of it that Lakers coach Phil Jackson was seen chastising his star [...]

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker appears to be in midseason form as he poured in 32 points and dished out six assists in leading France to an impressive 76-65 victory over Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in pool play of the 2011 European Championships in Lithuania. Parker made 11 of 20 shots from the field [...]

Mike Fratello is taking time off from his role as The Czar of the Telestrator on TV in order to fulfill his obligation as coach of Ukraine’s men’s national team. Fratello, 64, dusts off his coaching clipboard at the 2011 European Championship, which started Aug. 31 in Lithuania and runs through Sept. 18. The Ukrainian [...]

Coach Mike Krzyzewski recently visited with ESPN’s Mike & Mike Show and talked about 21-year-old phenom Kevin Durant and the significance of winning a world championship. Krzyzewski says winning a gold medal at the FIBA World Championships is a greater accomplishment than winning Olympic gold simply because of the competition. “It’s actually bigger because it’s [...]

Move over LeBron. Step aside D-Wade. Make room Kobe. Kevin Durant is coming fast and furious to join basketball’s Mt. Rushmore. After leading the United States to a 81-64 victory over host nation Turkey in the 2010 FIBA final, the 21-year-old forward of the Oklahoma City Thunder accomplished something LeBron James and Dwyane Wade couldn’t [...]

Lucky or not, host nation Turkey will be competing for a gold medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Down 82-81 to Serbia with 4.3 seconds to play, Turkey coach Bogdan Tanjevic’s designed a play for his best player, Hedo Turkoglu. But as the Phoenix Suns forward made his move toward the sideline he lost [...]

On Sept. 9, 1972, Russia shocked the United States in the controversial gold-medal game at the Olympics Games in Munich, Germany. It was a bitter loss for the Americans, who still refuse to accept their silver medals because they all believe the game was taken away from them by the officials. It was the United [...]

With one incredible long shot, Milos Teodosic lifted Serbia into the semifinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship and ended Spain’s reign as world champions. After Spain tied the game at 89 with 25.8 seconds left in the game on Marc Gasol’s dunk, Serbia put the ball in the hands of its playmaker, Teodosic, and [...]