Draymond Green is one of the few to have shown his intentions. For the moment, it is difficult to imagine what the workforce of the American selection will look like at the next World Cup. It is all the more difficult to project that the Olympic Games in Paris will take place the following summer. Some players probably imagine they favor one competition over the other.
“ I think we have seen that Americans are more focused on Olympic competitions “Notes Adam Silver, according to whom international players would commit more naturally to other major events, including the World Cup. The last edition of the Euro, with many stars of the league (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic…) demonstrated it.
So how do you ensure that Team USA will always be able to field enough talent for each competition? Especially since the American federation recently changed its rules: players will no longer be forced to commit to several summers to play in the Olympics.
“ I think it’s too much to ask that every two years our best players return to the field and participate in independent competitions during the summer. Putting ‘load management’ aside for a second, there is no doubt that the wear and tear is enormous. This ties back to the WNBA’s question about women playing year-round. You need rest “Judges Adam Silver.
The parade according to the latter? ” One should work with our federation and, whether it’s the World Cup or the Olympics, maybe have a competition where the age is unlimited and where the best players play, and the other with the best players under 23 or something like that. »
A model modeled on that of football. Because while the World Cup remains the flagship competition, at the Olympics, only players under the age of 23 are allowed to play (with three exceptions for each team).
Such an outcome would obviously distort the competition concerned and would probably prove the supporters of this famous “load management” right. And this while the Americans had returned to the heights of world basketball by betting on the repeated presence of a core of players (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade…).
