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As the final buzzer sounded Friday night, the American players looked dejected. Hands on hips. Jerseys over faces. Sagging shoulders. Expressions of disbelief as they watched Germany’s players leap and hug in celebration at midcourt.

Germany had shocked the United States, 113-111, in the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines. The United States, perennial gold medal favorites in this men’s tournament, looked a step behind the whole game, done in by a porous perimeter defense and a lack of rebounding. And Germany, led by guard Andreas Obst with 24 points and forward Franz Wagner with 22 points, had earned the biggest basketball win in German history.

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The loss Friday served as a humbling status check on the U.S. men’s national program heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics. This was the first FIBA World Cup under the leadership of Steve Kerr, who has won four NBA championships as coach of the Golden State Warriors. He has marquee assistant coaches, including Erik Spoelstra, who has won two NBA titles coaching the Miami Heat, and Tyronn Lue, who coached the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship.

But on the court, there was far less experience. The World Cup does not hold the same prestige as the Olympic tournament, which meant fewer players were willing to spend part of their summer abroad after a grueling NBA season. This roster did not feature a single All-NBA player and was a combination of role players and up-and-comers. There were four total All-Star appearances combined (Tyrese Haliburton, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Anthony Edwards). Only one player on the team had an NBA championship, Bobby Portis.

Germany repeatedly pummeled the United States in the paint, exploiting the United States’ choice to play with smaller lineups. Germany grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, compared with seven for the United States. It also shot well from outside, 13 for 30 from 3-point range.

Germany outscored the United States by 35-24 in a pivotal third quarter, and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the rest of the game. But a late flurry by the United States, led by Edwards, cut Germany’s lead to 3 points with just over three minutes left. Edwards led the Americans with 23 points, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with two minutes left.

Germany was led by 22 points from Franz Wagner, who has played for the University of Michigan and the Orlando Magic.

Germany is the only unbeaten team in the tournament. It was the second loss for the United States, which had also been upset by Lithuania earlier this week.

For the United States, the tournament did not attract many of the top stars from the NBA. But the team will almost assuredly look different for the Paris Olympics in 2024. This edition of the team will play only for a bronze medal against Canada, while Germany clinched a spot in the gold medal game against Serbia on Sunday.

In the most recent tournament, in 2019, the United States had an even more disappointing run, failing to get a medal after a quarterfinal loss to France, after having won the tournament in 2014 and 2010. Before the loss to France, the United States had won 19 straight World Cup games.

In many ways, the high expectations for the United States are of its own making. The standard was set by the 1992 team at the Olympics — the Dream Team led by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing — and carried forward in subsequent Games, including the 2008 squad nicknamed the Redeem Team, which included LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.

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