Ranking Team USA’s 10 Most Shocking Losses

Team USA has always been considered a basketball superpower, especially since the program was able to field NBA players. But now it seems the rest of the world is catching up, threatening to send us back to the dark ages of 2002-2006.

In fact, Team USA has missed the podium in the last two FIBA ​​World Cup appearances, despite having a team full of NBA players.

But what keeps Team USA from falling back into the dark years is its recent success at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where it won the gold medal. Heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA has assembled a star-studded cast with hopes of continuing its gold medal streak.

But while a LeBron James-led team will have a surplus of talent, the rest of the world will also have world-class talent paired with elite chemistry. Given that Team USA will have its work cut out for it, it’s worth looking back at the times the United States suffered heartbreaking losses. Let’s rank the 10 most shocking Team USA losses.

10. Australia 98, USA 94 (exhibition 2019)

Team USA had not lost a game in 78 games since 2008. However, that streak came to an end after Team USA lost a close game to Australia. The Boomers relied on Patty Mills’ 30-point outburst to hand the United States their first loss since 2006. Although it was only an exhibition game, the game provided a glimpse of Team USA’s impending downfall on the international stage.

9. France 87, USA 82 (Tokyo 2021 Olympics group stage)

After being eliminated by France at the 2019 FIBA ​​World Cup, which we’ll come back to later, the United States faced their tormentors led by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert in the first round of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.

To everyone’s surprise, France reaffirmed its dominance over the USA by inflicting a defeat on them in the first round. It is also their first defeat at the Olympic Games since 2004.

8. Germany 113, USA 111 (FIBA World Cup 2023 semi-finals)

At the FIBA ​​World Cup 2023, the United States fielded a team once again devoid of stars. Nevertheless, the team managed to place far in the tournament despite a crushing loss to Lithuania.

But eventual world champion Germany, led by Brooklyn Nets point guard Dennis Schroder, proved too strong for a hastily assembled American team. In fact, Germany outscored Schroder 22-5 in the final quarter, preventing the U.S. team from advancing to the final.

7. Canada 127, USA 118 (FIBA World Cup 2023 bronze medal game)

Speaking of the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup, Team USA suffered another heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal game. Facing FIBA ​​Americas rivals Canada, Team USA was unable to take on a tough Canadian team, which also featured NBA stars led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, and Kelly Olynyk.

Despite Mikal Bridges’ tough three points to equalize, the American team ran out of energy in overtime and had to give up a place on the podium.

6. Puerto Rico 92, USA 73 (2004 Athens Olympics group stage)

Heading into the 2004 Olympics, it was expected that Team USA would have an easy time against Puerto Rico. In fact, Team USA had outclassed Puerto Rico in its last five games.

Unfortunately, the United States was surprised by Puerto Rico in Athens. Puerto Rico got off to a flying start in the game thanks to NBA veteran Carlos Arroyo. Arroyo finished with 24 points and seven assists to lead his country to a landslide victory.

5. Yugoslavia 81, USA 78 (2002 FIBA ​​World Championship quarterfinals)

Facing a formidable team, the American Dream Team, in the quarterfinals, Yugoslavia knew it had to play near-perfect basketball to have a chance against a team full of stars. But from the start, Yugoslavia showed which team was more hungry for victory.

Although the USA eventually came back into the game, NBA All-Stars Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac got to work, finishing with 20 and 16 points, respectively.

4. Greece 101, USA 95 (2006 FIBA ​​World Championship semi-finals)

The formula that allowed Team USA to become a global superpower was to assemble a group of stars. But since 2002, the rest of the world has started to fill the gap and proved that the formula no longer works. The United States made the same mistake by sending a group of future superstars led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony.

Although they reached the semi-finals and finished in bronze, Greece stood in their way and dashed their gold medal hopes. Vassilis Spanoulis led the charge with 22 points.

3. Nigeria 90, USA 87 (2021 exhibition)

Although it was just an exhibition match, it certainly deserves a special place in African basketball history. In preparation for the 2021 Paris Olympics, Nigeria’s D’Tigers secured a resounding victory by beating the United States 90-87 in a warm-up match.

It was the first time an African team managed to secure a victory against the American team. In-season NBA tournament champion Gabe Vincent led the D’Tigers with 21 points, including six three-pointers.

2. Argentina 87, USA 80 (2002 FIBA ​​World Championship, second round)

While the world thought that Team USA was unstoppable in international competitions, it was Argentina led by Manu Ginobili who proved otherwise. Unfazed by the Dream Team, Argentina achieved the impossible feat thanks to Manu Ginobili’s 15 points.

Moreover, it was Argentina’s game plan that slowed down the USA’s play and embarrassed their scorers. After that, the loss to Argentina ushered in a dark era in the history of American basketball.

1. France 89, USA 79 (FIBA World Cup 2019 quarter-finals)

With a shaky transition to Gregg Popovich, Team USA’s dominance has been in question since the team was formed for the 2019 FIBA ​​World Cup. With plenty of talent being pushed forward by other powerhouses, it was only a matter of time before Team USA’s fortress finally crumbled.

That moment came in the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIBA ​​World Cup, when France defeated the United States 89-79. It was the first time since 2006 that the United States had lost a game at a major tournament. It was also the first time since 2002 that they finished without a medal while ending their streak of two consecutive gold medals.