SUMMARY
- Team USA won their showcase game against Canada 86-72.
- Former US President Barack Obama paid a visit to watch Team USA compete live.
Team USA Basketball is about to embark on its final quest with a few veterans of the NBA before the next generation of players takes over. As they prepare to bring home another gold medal, Team USA recently had a showcase match against the Canadian national team which also featured a set of talented young NBA players.
A loud ovation for Barack Obama as he returns to the court for the second half. pic.twitter.com/XBJCoCcn7t
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 11, 2024
Needless to say, with the experience and dominance Team USA possesses, they managed to put away Canada for an 86-72 win. The team was also blessed by the presence of the 44th US President, Barack Obama. The former President of the country is a massive fan of the sport of basketball and it wasn’t surprising to see him watch NBA legends play one of their final international games in Las Vegas.
Barack Obama celebrates the journey and success of Team USA Basketball
Interestingly, it has been 50 years since USA Basketball commenced its journey into the limelight. USA has been the most successful basketball team since they began competing in the Olympics winning a medal in all 19 appearances since 1936. And of course, they haven’t mostly won a gold medal in international basketball tournaments since the early 2000s.
President Barack Obama attends the USA Basketball Showcase in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/HW43s13gqs
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2024
President Barack Obama shared a speech while celebrating the moment with Team USA. He said, “As many of you know, I am a big basketball fan and I have traveled all around the world. And there are a lot of things that make America [an] exception. Obviously, we are an enormous economic power, we’re an enormous military power. But our most important export is our culture and our ideas.”
He added, “The thing that moves people about America, more than our companies, it’s our people… Doesn’t matter what they look like, where they come from, how they worship, what language or culture they bring with them, we come under a single banner and have a certain set of ideas and nothing has represented that more powerfully than USA basketball.”
Team USA Basketball has won sixteen gold medals in the Olympics, aiming to win their seventeenth this year. Their showcase games will continue until July 23. They will be taking on Australia, Serbia, South Sudan, and Germany before heading into the group games in the Olympics.