The two teams drawing the most attention at this Basketball World Cup were undoubtedly the United States and China.
One of them was naturally the star-studded Team America.
For years, these players had been getting their heads pounded in by Wang Yi in the NBA. Even in international competitions, they had still been getting their heads pounded in by Wang Yi, even when they joined forces.
But now, Wang Yi was already 34 years old.
In their eyes, a 34-year-old Wang Yi might still be dominant against an ordinary NBA team.
But what if he faced a superteam made up not just of NBA players, but of NBA superstars?
And aside from Pang Bo and Zhang Jiacheng, there were no other NBA-caliber players alongside Wang Yi. In other words, the competitive level of his teammates had dropped.
With one side growing weaker as the other grew stronger, they believed they absolutely had a chance to challenge China this year.
Wang Yi had competed in a total of seven major international tournaments, including the Olympic Games and the Basketball World Cup.
He had finished runner-up only once, in his first tournament. He had won the championship in all six of the others.
This showed that Wang Yi wasn't just dominant in the NBA. His dominance in international competitions was just as unmatched.
The United States prided itself on being a basketball powerhouse, yet it had now lost the championship in these two international tournaments six times in a row.
That was unacceptable not only to American fans, but to the American players as well.
So this time, Team America had assembled its strongest coaching staff.
Popovich would serve as head coach, with Steve Kerr and JJ Redick as assistant coaches.
The coaching staff formed by these three could practically be called