Byron Scott: 'Who could challenge Team USA? Yugoslavia, Russia and China' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP – Scanpix Credit AP – Scanpix

Team USA’s weekend loss to Nigeria was the biggest upset in the history of USA basketball, according to Byron Scott. The two-time NBA All-Star shooting guard believes that the Olympic Tournament will not be an easy case for the American squad. However, when he was asked to name the teams that could challenge the ultimate favorite for the gold medal, he gave an answer that had little or no relevance at all."I wouldn't say "one of the biggest", but "the biggest upset". That's a hard blow right there, US team losing to Nigeria", Scott said when asked by TMZ.

The 61-year-old former Laker doesn't lose faith in his country's squad: "Hopefully it's a wake-up call for them. You have to be ready to play. I'm not too concerned about it right now. There's a lot of negatives going against them right now. You got a bunch of superstars and they got to learn how to play with each other - and then, they have to learn to mesh together. It's all about team basketball. With Popovich and all the coaching staff that they've got, I wouldn't worry one bit."Nevertheless, Byron Scott concedes that "the gold medal is not a given by the USA anymore. Basketball in this world has caught up to the USA. It's going to be much tougher for them to win gold this year, no doubt about it. It's still something that they can definitely achieve. If I were to put money on it, I would bet on the USA."

When the conversation went to the possible adversaries of Team USA, it became evident that Scott hadn't done his homework: "I think France will be good this year as well, Yugoslavia and the Russians are always pretty good. There's always going to be one team to surprise you. It could be China this year."

Apart from the fact that Yugoslavia has long ceased to exist as a country, its rightful successor Serbia will not be playing the Olympic Tournament - and neither will Russia or China. At least, he got France right.

One can safely argue that Byron Scott isn't the most avid follower of international hoops, despite the fact that he finished his playing career in Greece, winning the Greek League with Panathinaikos.

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