Basketball: for Carmelo Anthony, a new American coronation requires “a different approach”

Three-time Olympic champion Carmelo Anthony on Saturday called on the United States to “think about a different approach” to regain the world basketball title the day after the elimination in the semi-final against Germany in Manila (113-111).

“Everyone now has to think about a different approach to win the title. The other players are better, the game is becoming international, everyone can be crowned world champion,” Anthony told the press in Manila.

However, the former winger or power forward did not call for a questioning of the model of Team USA, which remains on two consecutive failures at the World Cup (elimination in the quarterfinals in 2019) and uses this competition to launch into the international bath of players, unlike the Olympics in which the stars generally participate.

“I would like us to send the cream of the crop every time. But you have to respect the guys who are here too. They are professional players. You can’t send the big armada every time. We have to make them play so that they can progress at the international level” added “Melo”, retired since 2022 and now one of the ambassadors of Fiba, the international basketball federation.

In the absence of the 12 Olympic champions in Tokyo in 2021, no Team USA player at the 2023 World Cup had previously worn the A selection jersey in international competition.