Summer Olympics

Nine rowers have accused United States Rowing Association men's coach Mike Teti of physical and verbal threats ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Janie McCauley of the Associated Press reported Saturday the rowers' accounts come amid an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee into U.S. Rowing's national team programs.

"He'll vary so wildly from the guy that you think is actually going to have his uncle kill you if you don't win ... to the guy that's crying and telling you that he loves you," an unnamed former Olympic rower told the AP. "That exists in the same guy—and I believe both of them. There is a storm raging inside that guy that he has a hard time controlling."

Other athletes who've been coached by Teti told McCauley his coaching style "breeds winners." Teti released a statement to the AP about the allegations against him.

"I believe that I have coached fairly, with the athletes' well-being in mind," he said. "Any athlete who thinks they have been the subject of improper conduct or unfair treatment should voice that concern in the appropriate venue. U.S. Rowing has reporting mechanisms and personnel in place for that very purpose, and has a zero tolerance policy for retaliation."

Teti won a bronze medal for Team USA at the 1988 Summer Olympics as part of the men's eight rowing team.

The 64-year-old Pennsylvania native started his second stint as the U.S. men's rowing head coach in 2018. He previously filled the same role from 1997 through 2008. He's also coached at the collegiate level at Cal, Princeton and Temple.

He's a member of the U.S. National Rowing Hall of Fame as both an athlete and a coach.

Athletes who spoke with McCauley provided "drastically different accounts" of his coaching style.

"I have heard Mike Teti tell athletes, 'If you take one more step, I am going to punch you ... I'm going to kill you,'" one former U.S. team member told the AP about an incident outside of an Oakland boathouse two years ago, an account confirmed by the rower who was being threatened.

Teti denied there were any physical threats made during that conversation.

"It was a disagreement over the best way for an athlete to reach his highest potential. I expressed my feelings clearly, and firmly, and so did he," he told McCauley. "I called him moments later and we apologized to each other. ... There were no threats of violence."

The Arent Fox law firm, which was hired by the USOPC to handle the probe into the national rowing teams, wouldn't provide a timetable for when its results would be released. U.S. Rowing CEO Amanda Kraus told the AP the review is "not an investigation of any particular coach."

Teti was previously investigated in 2016 by the University of California and in 2018 by SafeSport, a watchdog group, but neither probe publicly revealed details of the findings, per McCauley.

Ben Holbrook, a member of the Team USA at the 2004 Summer Games, pointed to Teti's success to show his coaching style was effective.

"Everyone invited to his camp has already been incredibly successful in rowing in some way," Holbrook told the AP. "I have always thought that Mike's job is to determine who of the most elite athletes can work together in the most pressure-packed moments to maximize the opportunity to win gold."

Others hope the USOPC review will eventually lead to a change atop the U.S. Rowing men's team.

"Mike Teti is extremely verbally abusive and manipulative. He uses fear, your finances, your place on the team and even physical intimidation against you," a former U.S. rower said. "The mental well-being of his athletes is completely disregarded by him."

The men's eight rowing competition in Tokyo begins with heats July 25 and ends with the July 30 final.

Two athletes residing in the Olympic Village have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, the Tokyo bureau chief for the Washington Post, provided the latest update via the official Olympics COVID-19 Positive Case List.

That list shows two athletes residing in the village entering a 14-day quarantine period after testing positive for COVID-19. It also shows that the tests were found positive Saturday. Another athlete tested positive Saturday but wasn't residing in the village.

News of the first positive case from the Olympic Village—a non-resident person who was involved in organizing the Games—emerged early Saturday morning following an announcement from Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto, per CNN's Junko Ogura.

Muto did not reveal the person's identity or nationality because of privacy matters but noted that the person is quarantining away from the village. The identities of the athletes who tested positive have also not been publicly released.

The aforementioned list also shows 55 total positive cases from July 1 to 17 via people associated with the Olympics. That group includes four athletes (two in the Olympic Village, two outside the Olympic Village), 16 "Games-concerned personnel," four media members, two Tokyo 2020 employees and 29 Tokyo 2020 contractors.

Three of the 55 cases were people residing in the Olympic Village: two athletes and one "Games-concerned personnel" member.

Tokyo is under a state of emergency as COVID-19 cases surge. The Olympics, which have been delayed a year because of the pandemic, are still scheduled to go on from Friday, July 23, through Sunday, August 8. The Games will be held without fans.

Wout van Aert won Stage 20 of the 2021 Tour de France, an individual time trial from Libourne to Saint-Emilion, but Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey and remains in position to win the world's most famous cycling race for the second straight year Sunday in Paris.

Van Aert posted a time of 35 minutes, 53 seconds to win the Tour's penultimate stage. Kasper Asgreen (36:14) finished second, while Jonas Vingegaard (36:25) rounded out Saturday's podium.

The 26-year-old Belgian also won Stage 11.

Pogacar (36:50) finished eighth, a result more than good enough to maintain the top spot.

Here's a look at the top five in the general classification ahead of Sunday's finale:

• 1. Tadej Pogacar
• 2. Jonas Vingegaard, +5:20
• 3. Richard Carapaz, +7:03
• 4. Ben O'Connor, +10:02
• 5. Wilco Kelderman, +10:13

In September, Pogacar entered Stage 20 of the 2020 Tour facing a 57-second deficit behind Slovenian countryman Primoz Roglic. He outpaced the field by one minute, 21 seconds in a remarkable time-trial performance to take over the yellow jersey and put the finishing touches on his title the next day.

He didn't need an incredible comeback this year. He took over the top spot in the standings after the eighth stage and built his lead to a virtually insurmountable five minutes, 45 seconds entering Saturday's time trial, which was the Tour's final competitive stage before Sunday's ceremonial journey to Paris.

The 22-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider had eliminated most of the remaining drama in the Tour by winning Stages 17 and 18.

Pogacar, who will represent Slovenia in the men's road race at the Tokyo Olympics next Saturday, pushed back Friday against a question about whether there were illegal materials on his bike after fellow riders described a "strange noise" coming from the back wheels of four teams' equipment, per Barry Ryan of Cycling News.

"I don't know. We don't hear any noise," Pogacar said. "We don't use anything illegal. It's all Campagnolo materials, Bora. I don't know what to say."

He'll enjoy a celebratory arrival to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday before hopping on a plane to Tokyo the next day.

"We will go on Monday, with the plane, because I checked Google maps and you cannot go by car," Pogacar said, per Ryan. "It doesn't find the route, so we'll go in the plane, yes."

He's a strong bet to win the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the span of six days. Van Aert and Roglic will headline his competition in Tokyo.

Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko is missing in Japan leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. 

Per Motoko Rich, Makiko Inoue and Hisako Ueno of the New York Times, Olympic officials said they have been unable to locate Ssekitoleko after he failed to show up for a mandatory COVID-19 test Friday afternoon. 

Rob Picheta and Junko Ogura of CNN.com reported officials said Ssekitoleko left a note "saying his life in the African country was too difficult and he wanted to work in Japan."

The Times noted that the 20-year-old is among nine Ugandan athletes who have been staying at Izumisano, a city in Osaka Prefecture, since last month as they continue to prepare for the start of the Games. 

Per the New York Times, Salim Musoke, the president of the Uganda Weightlifting Federation, said Ssekitoleko didn't qualify for the Olympics and was scheduled to travel back to Uganda on Tuesday. 

According to Mari Yamaguchi of the Associated Press, Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu, mayor of Izumisano, said officials "received reports of possible sightings of Ssekitoleko at a nearby train station."

In April, Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee unveiled plans for a bubble that athletes would be required to stay in during the Games. 

The plan also includes mandatory daily coronavirus testing for every Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The bubble locations include the Olympic Village as well as venues and training areas.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister, announced last week that the Olympics would be held without spectators in the stands because of the recent state-of-emergency declaration in the country. 

According to the New York Times, one coach and one athlete from Uganda's athlete delegation tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Japan last month, but it's unknown if Ssekitoleko was one of them.    

Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike and Atlanta Dream center Elizabeth Williams are appealing FIBA's decisions to reject their transfer requests to play for the Nigerian women's national basketball team, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

In addition, Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike, who was cleared to play for Nigeria as a naturalized citizen, is making the case that her status should be changed to full citizenship.

If FIBA denies the appeals, the trio plans to appeal their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Mechelle Voepel reported Wednesday that FIBA's decision on Nneka Ogwumike and Williams was based on their previous involvement with Team USA.

In regards to Nneka Ogwumike in particular, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis stated that the decision was based off "the substantial involvement of the Player with the USA national team over more than ten years."

Chiney Ogwumike is appealing her status as only one naturalized citizen can take part on a team's roster, per Shelburne. If she receives full citizenship status, that naturalized citizen spot could open for someone else.

As Shelburne wrote, the appeal claims that Zagklis should have considered Article 3-22 of the FIBA Internal Regulations when considering their requests, namely that their inclusions would be "in the interest of the development of basketball" in Nigeria.

"Unequivocally, this is the case for a country currently ranked 17th in the FIBA World Rankings," the appeal states.

"A strong finish by the Nigeria women's basketball team at the Olympic Games would undoubtedly be in the interest of the development of basketball in Nigeria."

The Ogwumike sisters are dual citizens of the United States and Nigeria, and the appeal notes:

They are Nigerian. They have family and friends in Nigeria. Their parents are Nigerian. They are just as much at home in Nigeria as they are when they are in the USA...and would be invaluable assets to Team Nigeria, and would help grow the sport of basketball in Nigeria for years to come.

Nneka Ogwumike also spoke with ESPN about the decision previously, per Shelburne and Voepel: "It was more of a hurt than a shock, because I had experienced it before. But there are decisions made in this life that you can't control. I allowed myself to feel the hurt, but moving on, I decided, 'I'm going to try to put matters in my own hands.'"

Nneka Ogwumike has played for the Sparks since 2012, winning the 2016 WNBA MVP and 2016 WNBA title. She also won gold for Team USA at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

Chiney Ogwumike is a two-time WNBA All-Star who won the league's 2014 Rookie of the Year Award. She also works as a full-time basketball analyst for ESPN and co-hosts an ESPN Radio show.

Williams made the WNBA All-Star team in 2017. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft is in the middle of her season in Atlanta after starting her career with the Connecticut Sun.

The deadline for Olympic teams to submit their final rosters is Sunday, per Shelburne. Nigeria is set to begin its tournament with a matchup against Team USA on Tuesday, July 27.

The status of Las Vegas Aces star Liz Cambage for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo could be in jeopardy.

ESPN's Olgun Uluc reported the Australian national team is weighing her immediate future "due to an incident that occurred in a closed-door scrimmage against Nigeria." Uluc added that the 6'8" center was reportedly "involved in a physical altercation, as well as a charged verbal exchange."

The Opals are in Las Vegas to train ahead of the Olympics, and they're scheduled to play Team USA in an exhibition on Friday.

Prior to Thursday's report, Cambage figured to be a big part of head coach Sandy Brondello's squad. She's averaging 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds through 19 games for the Aces. The 29-year-old is also shooting 54.3 percent from the field.

While the United States is favored to win gold in Tokyo, Australia is second in FIBA's world rankings. 

Cambage was a member of the squad when it captured bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics and then earned a silver medal in the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. She was particularly excellent during the World Cup run, leading the competition in scoring (23.8 points).

Losing Cambage would put a dent in the Opals' hopes of improving upon a quarterfinal exit in the 2016 Summer Games.

Were she removed from the Olympic team, either Cayla George or Ezi Magbegor would likely take over as the starting center. 

George last played in the WNBA in 2018 and averaged 14.2 points and 9.5 rebounds in 15 games with the Melbourne Boomers during the WNBL's 2020 season. Magbegor, who was teammates with George in Melbourne, is putting up 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds through 19 games as a reserve for the Seattle Storm.

The Team USA men's basketball squad will not have the opportunity to bounce back from its exhibition loss to Australia after the sides agreed to cancel Friday's rematch due to health and safety protocols.   

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Olgun Uluc initially reported the team is "in a struggle with COVID" and was discussing potentially canceling the exhibition with Australia. Bradley Beal is out of the Olympics because of the virus, while Jerami Grant is in health and safety protocols.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported USA Basketball is looking to potentially replace Beal on the roster.

As for Grant, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported he had not tested positive despite being in protocols.

It has been a rocky lead to the Olympics for the Americans, as they lost stunners to Nigeria and Australia during the exhibition slate and are now dealing with COVID-19 concerns. They are still the favorites as the three-time defending Olympic champions, but it may not be as straightforward as once thought.

Team USA is also slated to play Spain in an exhibition Sunday before leaving for Tokyo for a schedule that starts July 25 against France.

Beal is a notable loss for the Americans considering he is coming off such an impressive season that saw him make his third career All-Star Game and average 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 34.9 percent from three-point range.

Only Stephen Curry (32.0) averaged more points per game than Beal.

Team USA may need to find a way to replicate that scoring if it is going to live up to gold medal expectations. 

FIBA has denied Los Angeles Sparks forward and 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike's petition to play for Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Mechelle Voepel.

Andreas Zagklis, FIBA's Secretary General, wrote in a letter to Ogwumike that the decision was based on "the substantial involvement of the Player with the USA national team over more than 10 years."

According to Shelburne and Voepel, Ogwumike is looking into other avenues that would allow her to play. One such option is an application to the Court of Arbitration in Sport.

As the ESPN duo noted, the Nigerian Basketball Federation appealed to FIBA on behalf of Ogwumike and Atlanta Dream center Elizabeth Williams, who was also denied for the same reason as the Sparks star.

"We do tacitly believe there are undercurrents and motivation for such a decision which is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience," the Nigerian Basketball Federation wrote.

"It is also out rightly discriminatory because players of African descent are approved to play for other countries constantly but the reverse is not the case."

Ogwumike is a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria. Per Shelburne and Voepel, the International Olympic Committee only mandates that an athlete be nationalized for their competing country.

In addition, the IOC states athletes can represent a different country three years after competing for another country.

Ogwumike's last participation for Team USA was at the 2018 World Cup, which ended on Sept. 30, 2018. She won a gold medal for Team USA then and also at the 2014 World Cup.

However, she has never been invited to play for Team USA on the Olympic stage. The ex-Stanford star is easily one of the most accomplished basketball players to fall in that category.

The 31-year-old's resume includes the aforementioned MVP award as well as a 2016 WNBA championship. The six-time All-Star has made four All-WNBA teams in addition to five WNBA All-Defensive teams.

She also won the 2012 Rookie of the Year award after the Sparks took her first overall in the WNBA draft.

In addition, Ogwumike took home the WNBA's Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award twice.

This season, Ogwumike has been limited to five games due to a left knee sprain that ESPN's Alex Scarborough initially reported would keep her out four-to-six weeks from June 3. In five games, Ogwumike has averaged 16.4 points on 58.6 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds.

As for the Olympics, Nigeria is scheduled to lead its tournament against Team USA on Tuesday, July 27.

Team USA is finally in the win column as its men's basketball team prepares for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The United States took down Argentina 108-80 Tuesday after dropping its first two exhibition games in Las Vegas. The results led some to wonder whether the U.S. is headed for another disappointment on par with the bronze-medal finish in the 2004 Summer Games.

Beating Argentina, the No. 4 team in the FIBA world rankings, will ease some of those concerns.

Zach LaVine was one of five U.S. players to score in double figures, and no two of his points were more emphatic than this dunk on Juan Pablo Vaulet.

The U.S. squad appeared to carry a chip on its shoulder as it led 33-19 after the first quarter. The advantage grew slightly to 16 points at halftime and Argentina was unable to make it much of a game in the second half.

Notable Performers

Kevin Durant, United States: 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal

Bradley Beal, United States: 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal

Damian Lillard, United States: 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block

Luis Scola, Argentina: 16 points, five rebounds, two assists

Durant Too Good for Argentina

The international game has caught up to the United States, but one obvious question remains: How will the rest of the world stop Kevin Durant?

The 11-time All-Star allayed the fears about his Achilles injury by averaging 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists during the NBA regular season and then carrying the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs. He's basically the same player he was prior to the injury.

Team USA can't be a one-man show built around Durant and still win gold because the competition is too strong. But he's clearly the best individual player in the competition.

Tuesday's exhibition was another showcase for the 2013-14 MVP.

Durant already has two gold medals to his name, and he put up 20.6 points per game across the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup. His international record is impeccable.

One downside to playing with the United States is that the roster is often so collectively strong that it's difficult for one player to shine above the rest. On a 2020 team that's good but not the best available to Team USA, Durant has an opportunity to make this year's Summer Games his own.

Team USA Displays New Sense of Urgency

The biggest reason not to hit the panic button with Team USA was that the Nigeria and Australia games were probably as bad as things would get in terms of the performance.

"I thought we got better tonight," coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "After a short time together, there’s a lot of things that have to be covered, but the first half and the second half were two different beasts."

The offensive fluidity for the U.S. should improve as the players spend more time on the court together, and the start to training camp may have served as a reminder of the level that will be required in Tokyo.

On Tuesday, this was a different Team USA from the start of the exhibition slate:

The movement away from the ball was crisper.

The effort on defense was higher as well, and the U.S. occasionally turned that into fast-break dunks and easy buckets on the other end.

The earlier hand-wringing about Team USA was warranted because the players came out pretty flat, and a seventh-place finish in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup wasn't that long ago.

But the U.S. appears to be righting the ship a bit in Las Vegas.

What's Next?

Team USA will have an opportunity to avenge its loss to Australia on Friday.

On July 10, just before Team USA Basketball tipped off its first exhibition game in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, popular NBA Twitter accounts took to the timeline to express confidence in a starting lineup that included Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo.

Durant is a two-time Finals MVP. Lillard and Beal are both multitime NBA All-Stars. Tatum and Adebayo are rising talents who both made All-Star teams before their 23rd birthdays.

So, it should come as little surprise that Rob Perez (perhaps more commonly known as World Wide Wob) tweeted "good luck, world" ahead of Team USA's matchup with Nigeria. It hardly felt like a hot take when The Hoop Central wrote, "Team USA starting lineup...Unbeatable" followed by a fire emoji.

And then the actual game started. The Americans seemed intent on a "your turn, my turn" style of offense to go along with little effort on the other end. Nigeria, on the other hand, looked connected, moved the ball and hit 10 more threes than Team USA.

In the end, Nigeria won 90-87, beating the betting spread by a remarkable 31.5 points.

Two days later, behind Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and four other current NBA players, Australia's Boomers beat Team USA, 91-83.

Now, the team that was once a massive favorite to win gold in Tokyo is 0-2 on the exhibition circuit. It's probably still the safest bet in the field, but these two losses have revealed problems that could make a run to the medal stand more precarious than anticipated.

Roster Construction

After the first loss, Nigeria head coach Mike Brown diagnosed one of the problems Team USA must confront. 

"If you look at the pool of talent that USA Basketball has to pull from, or to draw from, no country can match it," he said. "The reality of it is, a lot of their talent, they just kind of throw together at the last second and say, 'Go win it.' And a lot of these other countries, they've been playing together since they were 14, 15, 16 years old. And so, that has helped, in my opinion, a lot on the international stage."

That certainly helped the Australians too.

"The current boomer core has been together for a decade," The Athletic's Tony Jones tweeted after the game. "They are integrating people like [Dante Exum], [Josh Green] and [Matisse Thybulle] into the next core, and Josh Giddey is the future. Australia hoop is in a good spot..."

Cohesion and chemistry are key components for successful basketball, and they're nearly impossible to manufacture in a few days and weeks at a minicamp, especially when you feature multiple players who do a lot of the same things.

Lillard, Beal, Durant and Tatum are all ultratalented scorers, but they haven't had enough time to learn to play together. A more natural table-setter to get everyone involved and promote ball movement would've helped.

As The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann put it: "...sprinkle [Trae Young], [Tyrese Haliburton], [LaMelo Ball] over this and let the good times roll..."

One or two defensive-minded wings or guards would've helped as well. The aforementioned starters at those positions are all-world offensive talents, but none of them are known for consistently changing games on the other end. Zach LaVine doesn't help much there, either.

Until Jrue Holiday arrives after the NBA Finals (which should make a difference), the team's only defensive specialists are Draymond Green and Adebayo, both of whom are bigs. They can only do so much to cover the perimeter, and they don't take up quite as much space in the paint as, say, Jarrett Allen (who was a finalist to make the team).

And that leads to the next problem: the big men. On this team, Jerami Grant is essentially a 4 or 5, so that gives Team USA a platoon of Adebayo, Green, Grant and Kevin Love. The first three are going to be undersized in certain matchups, and Love has looked completely out of place in his limited minutes. He may have the size and passing ability to make some sense on offense, but he's going to get embarrassed in almost any defensive matchup.

Again, the additions of Holiday, Khris Middleton and Devin Booker will help. It'll bump Select Team members off the main roster, add firepower and bolster the defense.

But these two games—and really, the last several years of international basketball—have shown that hodgepodge rosters with little experience together are no longer a guarantee to win gold.

International Talent

Exporting basketball to the world has done wonders for the talent pools in international competitions.

In 1980-81, only 2.1 percent of NBA players who logged at least 500 minutes were born outside the United States. By the 2000-01 season, that number had grown to 8.8. This season, it climbed all the way to 22.4.

Three of the top four (and four of the top six) finishers in 2020-21 MVP voting were from countries other than the United States. The winner, Nikola Jokic, isn't competing in Tokyo, but his ascension is more evidence of the game's growth overseas.

The sixth-place finisher, Luka Doncic, will be at the Olympics. And though his roster with Slovenia doesn't have as much raw talent as Team USA's, he's proved he can dominate NBA defenders for three years now.

In the one-and-done format of the knockout round, it's conceivable that a Herculean effort from Doncic and a few timely contributions from role players could push a team like Slovenia past Team USA.

Nearly 30 years removed from 1992's Dream Team, the Americans' air of invincibility is gone. Most nations represented in the Olympic or FIBA World Cup tournaments are led by NBA players with years of experience against Team USA's best. Some are now led by MVP candidates.

International Style

Over the last several years, baiting refs into calling fouls on wholly unnatural movements has become commonplace in the NBA. Players often pump-fake on the perimeter, get a defender in the air, launch themselves sideways like a guided missile into contact and get rewarded with free throws.

Tune into these NBA Finals and you're likely to see Chris Paul pull ahead of a defender, stop on a dime (or sometimes, even back up into the defender) and then hit the deck like he's taking a pro wrestling bump.

A trip to the line is the highest efficiency possession in basketball, and stars are often shameless in their attempts to get there.

But after years of successfully fooling NBA refs, many of Team USA's players are struggling to adjust to the more physical brand of defense played in FIBA tournaments, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. On the other end, they're being called for push-offs that NBA officials rarely call: 

"Throughout the games, multiple players, from Jayson Tatum to Bradley Beal, have been staring down the officials following no-calls as they're accustomed to receiving touch fouls or star-treatment officiating in the NBA. In the first half on Monday, Tatum was called for an offensive foul on a drive when he slightly nudged the defender aside with his right hand to create separation. It was a move that's consistently ignored in the NBA."

That should affect the NBA players on teams from other nations, too. But again, those guys have more international experience. Doncic, for example, was a rotation player for Real Madrid back in 2015-16. Officiating in the EuroLeague and Liga ACB is much closer to what the players will see at the Olympics than it is in the NBA.

Slovenia aside, most of the nations represented in Tokyo will be more accustomed to an egalitarian-like system on offense, too. The unselfishness and ball movement displayed by Nigeria and Australia aren't outliers. And for an American team without many defensive aces, covering those attacks won't be easy. 

Ultimately, Team USA should still have a significant talent advantage over every team it faces in Tokyo, especially when Holiday, Middleton and Booker are added to the fold.

In the past, the Americans could show up, play sort of a pickup style and cruise to the gold. They likely can't anymore. But if they leverage these losses as learning experiences that inspire them to play a more connected brand of basketball on both ends of the floor, they should still finish first.

The door is officially open for the rest of the world, though.