Considering America’s place in the world when it comes to men’s basketball, it should come as no surprise that the United States often receives opponents’ absolute best shots in international competition, be it at the Olympics or World Cup.
Just recently, in an Olympic elimination game between the top-seeded Americans and second-seeded Spaniards, we saw Ricky Rubio, a career 11.0 point per game scorer in the NBA whose career-high scoring-wise as a pro was 34 points, go toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant and drop 38 against Team USA, albeit in a defeat for Spain.
It was the greatest scoring mark against Team USA in the Olympic Games ever:
Best scoring marks against Team USA at the Olympic Games:
Manu Ginobili 🇦🇷: 29 points
Pau Gasol 🇪🇸: 29 points
Patrick Mills 🇦🇺: 30 points
Oscar Schmidt 🇧🇷: 31 points
Butch Lee 🇵🇷: 35 points
RICKY RUBIO 🇪🇸: 38 points— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) August 3, 2021
Below, check out the 25 best scoring performances that have come against Team USA in the two major FIBA tournaments – a list that, for the most part, isn’t a who’s who of NBA legends.
