What was Duncan's 2 reasons for not playing in Olympics and FIBA World Championship?

[Lebron23]

:confusedshrug: :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

Tim Duncan was the leader of the US National Team in the 2004 Olympics.

[dough]

Knee injury and never revealed the reason for not returning after the Bronze medal. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/olympics/2004/basketball/08/28/usa.lithuania.ap/index.html

[Lakers13]

:confusedshrug: :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

Tim Duncan was the leader of the US National Team in the 2004 Olympics.

His health :confusedshrug:

[beermonsteroo]

Because he got ****in exposed and dominated by Puert Rico in 2004

[mrpuente]

He's too old.
He's too slow.
:pimp:

[Lebron23]

His health :confusedshrug:

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/24352/arti.html

The FIBA Central Board already updated their rules back in 2008. Duncan hated the Old FIBA Rules. He needs to play in the 2010 Olympics if he wants to win his first Gold Medal.

His teammate Manu Ginobili already won a Gold Medal in the Olympics.

[Lakers13]

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/24352/arti.html

The FIBA Central Board already updated their rules back in 2008. Duncan hated the Old FIBA Rules. He needs to play in the 2010 Olympics if he wants to win his first Gold Medal.

His teammates Manu Ginobili already won a Gold Medal in the Olympics.

He's more concerned about his health issues. Im pretty sure hes had some knee problems the last few years, why risk injury, dude is playing for NBA titles, not US Gold.

[SCdac]

He lost interest after the officiating didn't bode well with his game, and I can't blame him all that much, mostly because those teams lacked cohesion and direction anyways. Doesn't bother me that "my" franchise player didn't burn himself out overseas for years and years. They faced a primed Argentina squad in 2004, Ginobili put up 29 points on USA, and in the tournament Manu lead his team in minutes, points, assists, steals, FT percentage and 3PT-FG made.

http://i.cnn.net/si/2004/olympics/2004/basketball/08/27/usa.argentina.ap/p1_duncan.ginobili_ap.jpg

[Lebron23]

He's more concerned about his health issues. Im pretty sure hes had some knee problems the last few years, why risk injury, dude is playing for NBA titles, not US Gold.


Same with LeBron. He has already proven that he's still a dominant player in the International Competitions.

LeBron has nothing left to prove in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

[2LeTTeRS]

After he played in 04, Duncan said he'd never go again. With the fact that the refs called ticky tack fouls on him but didn't give him the same respect when he was fouled, add to that the bad feeling he had in general that came from being apart of the worse team the NBA has ever fielded in the Olympics, and Duncan decided enough was enough.


He's too old.
He's too slow.
:pimp:

Do you watch the big men that are on most of these international team? When Duncan is 45 he'd probably still have enough quickness to be effective against those guys.

[JMT]

Same with LeBron. He has already proven that he's still a dominant player in the International Competitions.

LeBron has nothing left to prove in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Except that he's a man of his word and honors his commitments.

[Lebron23]

Except that he's a man of his word and honors his commitments.


http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5055686


Colangelo asked for a three-year commitment when he formed the national team program in 2005, and James played all three summers from 2006-08.

LeBron already honor his commitments to the National Team. By the way Team USA is already qualified for the 2012 Olympics because they are the defending champion.

[2LeTTeRS]

LeBron already honor his commitments to the National Team. Team USA is already qualified in the 2012 Olympics because they are the defending champion.

And he made another commitment this year.

[quote]The 2008 USA Team celebrates after defeating Spain and capturing the Olympic gold medal. Nine members of that team are back in the fold with the National Team for 2010-12. (NBA Photo)

[Lebron23]

Rudy Gay could replace LeBron because he was also included in the 2010-12 USA Men's National Team program.

[Big#50]

:confusedshrug: :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

Tim Duncan was the leader of the US National Team in the 2004 Olympics.
After playing in a team and system like The Spurs would you play with Iverson and the players like him?

[JMT]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5055686



LeBron already honor his commitments to the National Team. By the way Team USA is already qualified for the 2012 Olympics because they are the defending champion.

I don't believe you're correct on the defending Olympic champion earning an automatic berth. If I'm not mistaken, 7 teams enter by winning the FIBA tourneys (Africa, Americas x 2, Asia, Europe x 2, Oceania), there are 3 Wildcards, the winner of the World Championship, and the host country.

At this point, Great Britain is the only team in the tournament.

As for his commitment, my understanding from a conversation I had with Colangelo is that all the players initially agreed to this extended two year commitment. The selling point was that next summer would be free, and nobody wold face the possibility of a deep 2010-11 NBA run, 2011 qualifiers, another NBA season, then the 2012 games.

[mrpuente]

Do you watch the big men that are on most of these international team? When Duncan is 45 he'd probably still have enough quickness to be effective against those guys.
it was a joke:ohwell:

[Lebron23]

I don't believe you're correct on the defending Olympic champion earning an automatic berth. If I'm not mistaken, 7 teams enter by winning the FIBA tourneys (Africa, Americas x 2, Asia, Europe x 2, Oceania), there are 3 Wildcards, the winner of the World Championship, and the host country.

At this point, Great Britain is the only team in the tournament.

As for his commitment, my understanding from a conversation I had with Colangelo is that all the players initially agreed to this extended two year commitment. The selling point was that next summer would be free, and nobody wold face the possibility of a deep 2010-11 NBA run, 2011 qualifiers, another NBA season, then the 2012 games.

My mistake. Defending World Champions earning an automatic berth in the 2012 Olympics.

[JMT]

My mistake. Defending World Champions earning an automatic berth in the 2012 Olympics.

That's why this summer is so important, and why I think those who opt out this year should take their chances regarding 2012.

[Lakas Fan Yo]

Duncan said he didn't like FIBA because it was too physical. That is why he did not play again.

[Lebron23]

Duncan said he didn't like FIBA because it was too physical. That is why he did not play again.


Duncan was intimidated by the presence of 7'4" Roberto Duenas.

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

[Lakas Fan Yo]

I don't believe you're correct on the defending Olympic champion earning an automatic berth. If I'm not mistaken, 7 teams enter by winning the FIBA tourneys (Africa, Americas x 2, Asia, Europe x 2, Oceania), there are 3 Wildcards, the winner of the World Championship, and the host country.

At this point, Great Britain is the only team in the tournament.

As for his commitment, my understanding from a conversation I had with Colangelo is that all the players initially agreed to this extended two year commitment. The selling point was that next summer would be free, and nobody wold face the possibility of a deep 2010-11 NBA run, 2011 qualifiers, another NBA season, then the 2012 games.

Actually no team has qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Great Britain does not qualify automatically. That "automatic" rule for host countries of tournaments only applies to countries that are ranked in the FIBA top 20.

Great Britain is not even ranked among the 73 ranked countries so they don't get an automatic berth.

[Lakas Fan Yo]

Duncan was intimidated by the presence of 7'4" Roberto Duenas.

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:


In the NBA if you touch stars they get a foul. That does not happen in FIBA. Duncan did not like being reffed fairly and other players being treated equally as him.

[Gotterdammerung]

Despite being saddled with foul trouble, Tim Duncan lead that team in scoring and rebounds, and did the same for the 2003 USA Basketball team (http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=mtoa_2003), which won the Tournament of Americas in a dominating fashion.

[JMT]

Actually no team has qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Great Britain does not qualify automatically. That "automatic" rule for host countries of tournaments only applies to countries that are ranked in the FIBA top 20.

Great Britain is not even ranked among the 73 ranked countries so they don't get an automatic berth.

Thanks. Wasn't aware of that restriction.

[JustinJDW]

Lol at the homer agenda of some of you homers. Trying twist this into a knock on Duncan.

Duncan didn't want to wear and tire his body out in the Summer, and decided to rest his body and win more championships instead. He ended up winning two more rings after that.

****ing homers.

[Rent]

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/24352/arti.html

The FIBA Central Board already updated their rules back in 2008. Duncan hated the Old FIBA Rules. He needs to play in the 2010 Olympics if he wants to win his first Gold Medal.

It's the 2010 FIBA World Championship, not the 2010 Olympics.


Same with LeBron. He has already proven that he's still a dominant player in the International Competitions.

LeBron has nothing left to prove in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The USA hasn't won a WC since 1994, while they've won a tournament in 2008 that consist of maybe 2-3 competitive teams. Stop overrating the significance of the Olympics.

FIBA WC 2010

New Additions - France, Serbia (beat USA many times), Puerto Rico (beat USA in 2004), Brazil, Turkey, and Slovenia

All of these teams were absent in 2008 due to injuries or lack of player availability. I might add that all these teams are better than Germany, Russia, Croatia, and Lithuania who qualified that year.

This is why it amazes me when Americans along with other Olympic enthusiasts continue to shit on a tournament that is easily more competitive than the 12 team tournament known as the Olympics.


That's why this summer is so important, and why I think those who opt out this year should take their chances regarding 2012.

You guys treating the 2010 WC as a qualification tournament for 2012 doesn't bode well for you considering most of the world gets up to play in the WC. I suggest you guys and your players keep overlooking this summer because it's going to bite you in the ass and I'm going to laugh out loud at it. :roll:

[King Lebron LBJ]

In the NBA if you touch stars they get a foul. That does not happen in FIBA. Duncan did not like being reffed fairly and other players being treated equally as him.

It was true that Duncan got alot of calls on him that would never happen in the NBA.

[plowking]

Same with LeBron. He has already proven that he's still a dominant player in the International Competitions.

LeBron has nothing left to prove in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

It's always about f*cking Lebron with you isn't it?

You're f*cking sad.

[2LeTTeRS]

Duncan said he didn't like FIBA because it was too physical. That is why he did not play again.

Can you show me the quote where he said it was "too physical," I don't remember him ever saying that. Again he did say he didn't like the officiating but I really don't remember him complaining about players roughing him up.

[niko]

Because he despised it. His body language was awful. He didn't want to get bodyslammed and karate chopped by crappy players looking to make a name against him. He looked like he wanted out from the first game.

[bdreason]

Staying healthy for the real world champion title.

[bdreason]

It's the 2010 FIBA World Championship, not the 2010 Olympics.



The USA hasn't won a WC since 1994, while they've won a tournament in 2008 that consist of maybe 2-3 great teams. Stop overrating the significance of the Olympics.

FIBA WC 2010

New Additions - France, Serbia (beat USA many times), Puerto Rico (beat USA in 2004), Brazil, Turkey, and Slovenia

All of these teams were absent in 2008 due to injuries or lack of player availability. I might add that all these teams are better than Germany, Russia, Croatia, and Lithuania who qualified that year.

This is why it amazes me why Americans along with other Olympic enthusiasts continue to shit on a tournament that is easily more competitive than the 12 team tournament that consist of 2-3 great teams and a bunch of fillers.



You guys treating the 2010 WC as a qualification tournament for 2012 doesn't bode well for you considering most of the world gets up to play in the WC. I suggest you guys and your players keep overlooking this summer because it's going to bite you in the ass and I'm going to laugh out loud at it. :roll:


Nobody cares about the FIBA WC in the USA. NBA titles and Olympic golds are all that matter.

Not saying that I don't care... but if the players don't care, that's all that really matters.

You can't expect NBA players to get up for competing in an International competition every 2 years. Soccer (Football) players don't do it... why should Basketball players have to?

[ZenMaster]

Nobody cares about the FIBA WC in the USA. NBA titles and Olympic golds are all that matter.

Not saying that I don't care... but if the players don't care, that's all that really matters.

You can't expect NBA players to get up for competing in an International competition every 2 years. Soccer (Football) players don't do it... why should Basketball players have to?


Fail fail fail, this is a repost of a response i did to you in another thread where you made the same stupid claim about soccer players.

Most of the best soccer players are from Europe. They take great pride in the European championship as well, which is also every 4 years. So that's a big tournament every 2 years. And you have qualifying tournaments for these as well. Qualifiers take place during the season. On top of that you have friendly matches that they use to get ready for the qualifiers.

If your'e not from Europe you still have tournaments, there's the South American championship and the African championship as well which are used to qualify for the World championships.

So stating that top soccer players only have to get ready every 4 years is just a complete fail.

Example just to show how much they play, the Netherlands soccer team will play it's first European qualifier on september the 3rd 2010 and finish their last qualifier on october 11th 2011, the European championship starts in june 2012 and the world championship ends in early july 2010. And since september 9 last year to this date they've played 5 games, and will play another 4 BEFORE the World cup even starts.


Please stop talking about soccer players an their commitment to national teams, you clearly don't know anything about it.

[Nero Tulip]

It's the 2010 FIBA World Championship, not the 2010 Olympics.

FIBA WC 2010

New Additions - France, Serbia (beat USA many times), Puerto Rico (beat USA in 2004), Brazil, Turkey, and Slovenia

All of these teams were absent in 2008 due to injuries or lack of player availability. I might add that all these teams are better than Germany, Russia, Croatia, and Lithuania who qualified that year.


What what what?

Anyway I agree with the main point, it should be considered the main basketball international competition, never understood why it's underrated in the US.

[bdreason]

Please stop talking about soccer players an their commitment to national teams, you clearly don't know anything about it.


I apologize for my apparent lack of knowledge pertaining to Football players International commitments. Obviously my comparison was bad.


However, it doesn't change my stance on the fact that forcing Basketball players to play year-around is bad for the sport, and bad for the NBA.

Basketball is not a sport that can be played all year without time for physical recovery. Forcing NBA players to compete every summer is reducing the quality of play in the NBA, and many of the top players (Melo, Dirk, Nash, etc) have admitted as much.

[Lakas Fan Yo]

Nobody cares about the FIBA WC in the USA. NBA titles and Olympic golds are all that matter.

Not saying that I don't care... but if the players don't care, that's all that really matters.

You can't expect NBA players to get up for competing in an International competition every 2 years. Soccer (Football) players don't do it... why should Basketball players have to?


You keep saying this nonsense over and over. The Olympics is the THIRD best FIBA tournament. Keep bragging about USA winning the THIRD best FIBA tournament and not caring about the BEST one. It just makes NBA fans look like fools.

[bdreason]

You keep saying this nonsense over and over. The Olympics is the THIRD best FIBA tournament. Keep bragging about USA winning the THIRD best FIBA tournament and not caring about the BEST one. It just makes NBA fans look like fools.


I'm not bragging about anything. Just stating the facts. When the Olympics come around, everyone (American fans and media and players) are talking about winning gold. When the FIBA WC comes around, nobody talks about it, or cares. The media doesn't cover it. The average fan doesn't know what it is... and thus, the players don't seem to care.

Like I've said before, the USA should focus on the FIBA WC, and stop sending its players to the Olympics. Unfortunately, nobody cares what I think, and the focus in the States will continue to be NBA titles and Gold medals.


And I'm done arguing about who the best National Basketball team in the World is. If you really think Spain, or Argentina, or Greece is the best Basketball team in the World, more power to you.

[Lakas Fan Yo]

I'm not bragging about anything. Just stating the facts. When the Olympics come around, everyone (American fans and media and players) are talking about winning gold. When the FIBA WC comes around, nobody talks about it, or cares. The media doesn't cover it. The average fan doesn't know what it is... and thus, the players don't seem to care.

Like I've said before, the USA should focus on the FIBA WC, and stop sending its players to the Olympics. Unfortunately, nobody cares what I think, and the focus in the States will continue to be NBA titles and Gold medals.


And I'm done arguing about who the best National Basketball team in the World is. If you really think Spain, or Argentina, or Greece is the best Basketball team in the World, more power to you.

So the US is the only country that "does not care" yet they demand the rest of the world universally regard them as the best. If they want to be seen as the best team then they need to win the BEST tournament.

It is really arrogant to demand the whole world call the US the best in basketball only by winning the third toughest FIBA tournament. Surely someone in the US can grasp that you need to win the best tournament to truly be considered the best team.

But the US "does not care". I guess the rest of the world should not care when the US claims to be the best in basketball despite not winning the top tournament since 1994. It's a bit strange.

Maybe someone should write ESPN and inform them the Olympics is not the top international tournament and that they sound like idiots claiming it is the best.

[ZenMaster]

I apologize for my apparent lack of knowledge pertaining to Football players International commitments. Obviously my comparison was bad.


However, it doesn't change my stance on the fact that forcing Basketball players to play year-around is bad for the sport, and bad for the NBA.

Basketball is not a sport that can be played all year without time for physical recovery. Forcing NBA players to compete every summer is reducing the quality of play in the NBA, and many of the top players (Melo, Dirk, Nash, etc) have admitted as much.


Fair enough, i won't dispute that its rough on them considering injuries and fatigue.

From an international pov i will say though, that there's a huge cultural difference in competing for your country. It probably has something to with America being so big and the different parts being kind of disconnected. Euro competition, in whatever sport, is kind of like state teams competing against each other, only that Euro countries have a bigger cultural difference from each other than US states.

Also, a lot of the international players you see i basketball, especially the ones in the NBA, "owe" a great part of their development as players to the national youth programs.
The overall talent is not as great as in the US, so it's important for the players to get some great youth competition. They get this playing and practicing for the youth national teams. It's not just a "meet and play the games" mentality, there's a lot of emphasis put on development of the players, this in part because they are expected to represent their countries in the future.

[Lakas Fan Yo]

Fair enough, i won't dispute that its rough on them considering injuries and fatigue.

From an international pov i will say though, that there's a huge cultural difference in competing for your country. It probably has something to with America being so big and the different parts being kind of disconnected. Euro competition, in whatever sport, is kind of like state teams competing against each other, only that Euro countries have a bigger cultural difference from each other than US states.

Also, a lot of the international players you see i basketball, especially the ones in the NBA, "owe" a great part of their development as players to the national youth programs.
The overall talent is not as great as in the US, so it's important for the players to get some great youth competition. They get this playing and practicing for the youth national teams. It's not just a "meet and play the games" mentality, there's a lot of emphasis put on development of the players, this in part because they are expected to represent their countries in the future.


Exactly. It's hilarious that Americans don't understand how important and tough the EuroBasket is. The EuroBasket is not even rated by Americans and you seem them compare it to the Americas.

The EuroBasket is actually a tougher tournament than the Olympics is. European championships are extremely competitive and important competitions. Europeans take the EuroBasket just as seriously, and perhaps even more seriously than they do the world championship or the Olympics.

Americans just can't seem to grasp it. But the fact is Europeans play the EuroBasket (which is tougher than the Olympics) every 2 years, plus the world championship (the best FIBA tournament there is) every 2 years, plus the Olympics (the one that gets the most media coverage because it's the Olympics) every 2 years.

Yet we are told by Americans that Team USA can simply show up once every 4 years to the third toughest tournament (the Olympics), win a gold and then "not care" about any other tournament and that automatically everyone else in the world must call them the best team.

Well FIBA already caught onto this gimmick and that is why they changed the rankings system so that no longer can the US be ranked #1 by doing this. The fact is that Team USA can't just show up once every 4 years to the third toughest tournament and be the best team.

They have to do more than that and just Americans and US media saying otherwise does not cut it anymore. You demand respect from everywhere else then you have to earn it. The bottom line is no one outside the US will consider Team USA the best team if they do not win the gold at the world championships and no matter what US media says otherwise that is a fact.