Carmelo Anthony was in Paris for the Olympics, and he attended many Team USA games, including the last two against Serbia and France.

And for him, the narrowing of the gap between the countries is easy to explain.

As is often the case, both Team USA teams came away with gold in the Olympic basketball tournament.

This victory was the 8th consecutive for women and the 5th for men.

However, just a few days after the end of hostilities, concern still reigns across the Atlantic since the gap with the other selections has never seemed so small.

The group led by Steve Kerr was undermined in the semi-finals and then in the final, and it is a safe bet that without the help of a great Stephen Curry, the “Avengers” could have been surprised.

In the other table, the French team could also have achieved the feat if Gabby Williams had not stepped on the line when sending her shot at the buzzer… Many Americans are worried about the 2028 edition, and we can understand why.

Carmelo Anthony cashes in on the Europeans!
But how can we explain the rapid homogenization of the level on the international scene? Back in New York after his trip to the capital, Carmelo Anthony spoke at length on this subject in his podcast.

For him, the way of learning basketball in Europe would be much more effective today than what exists in Uncle Sam’s country:

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Let’s talk about the level in the rest of the world, where basketball is learned inch by inch. Aspect by aspect.

I have the impression that they learn thanks to YouTube and videos.

They watch the videos over and over, crossovers, transition shots, spin moves… They seem much more fluid than us.

Because at the same time, they are still learning the fundamentals of basketball, how we should play collectively.

They have to know how to initiate systems, they have to know what works in their game and what doesn’t.

So of course they think that the American game is simpler because it’s not as structured.

In the FIBA ​​game, every possession is important.

In the NBA, you can afford not to be at your best in the first quarter. At the Olympics, you take a quarter off, you’ve lost the game.

For Carmelo Anthony, who is one of the best players in the history of FIBA ​​basketball, the big difference between the game in the United States and the rest of the world is the structure.

In Europe, it’s important to know how to set up a system, to take care of the ball in every possession, which is not necessarily the case in the American environment.

And until that trend changes, the gap will remain small in international tournaments.

These two Olympic finals against France have shown that Team USA is no longer as untouchable as in the past and that other nations can now claim gold.

For Carmelo Anthony, it would all be linked to training.