The Cherry on Top

With their gold medal in the recent 2010 FIBA World Championship, USA basketball is once again the number one ranked team in the world.
After coming in first place at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, the United States was still only ranked second, behind Argentina. The World Championship, the U.S.'s first since 1994, was enough for the Americans to make official what their fans already loudly proclaimed: The United States has the best basketball program on the planet. In the official FIBA rankings that came out recently, the United States didn't just place first in the men's category, but came in ahead of every other nation in every single category of rankings that FIBA even has.
Many place the World Championship in a distant third, in terms of importance, behind the NBA Finals and Olympic tournament. But after this win, the U.S. can add that sweet cherry on top of the cake that makes everything just perfect.

This was no Dream Team, or even a Redeem Team. It could more aptly be called the B Team. But they got the job done. Apart from the game against Brazil in the group stage, the United States brushed aside every opponent with ease, even making light of hosts Turkey in the final.

21 year-old Kevin Durant was a monster in every game, scoring 28 points against Turkey and averaging 22.1 points per game to go with 6.2 rebounds, being named tournament MVP.

MVP Kevin Durant

The other players on the team helped make the USA a team of fast-breaks and transition, breaking the back of opponents with speed. Derrick Rose, Rudy Gay, and Chauncey Billups all racked up points, rebounds, and assists to make the team-play of the U.S. unbeatable. Whenever the Americans would go behind, they would just turn it up a gear and go on a run where they wouldn't allow their opponent to get a whiff of the basket.

As well, winning the World Championship means that the United States automatically qualifies for the Olympics in 2012.

The United States basketball team

The United States won the FIBA tournament, but they didn't make all the headlines. Turkey put on a great show, and had an amazing run to their first-ever championship final. Lithuania showed the world that they hadn't lost their talent, coming back from a couple of stagnant years to finish third. Serbia shocked Spain, as did France. The Spanish, pre-tournament favorites for a medal, finished off the podium in a major tournament for the first time in years. Germany played some entertaining games against Argentina and Serbia, while Brazil's games against the United States and Argentina had their fans with their hearts in their mouths. Smaller nations like Jordan and Angola also had good showings, and Oceania's representatives, New Zealand and Australia, proved that they know how to play ball too.

On the other hand, Tunisia, Iran, and the Ivory Coast showed that there is still quite a gap between Asia and Europe/America in development. Canada made their first tournament appearance since 2002, and played well in every game, even leading Lithuania by 17 points at one point. However, mental mistakes and turnovers cost them, as they ended up going 0-5. Puerto Rico had an unusually disappointing tournament as well, finishing behind China to be eliminated in the group stages.

Final standings were:

1. USA
2. Turkey
3. Lithuania
4. Serbia
5. Argentina
6. Spain
7. Russia
8. Slovenia
9. Brazil
10. Australia
11. Greece
12. New Zealand
13. France
14. Croatia
15. Angola
16. China
17. Germany
18. Puerto Rico
19. Iran
20. Lebanon
21. Ivory Coast
22. Canada
23. Jordan
24. Tunisia