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U.S. professionals playing for love of red, white, blue
Who's jaded now? After years of growing reluctance of American pros to participate, this U.S. basketball team represents a turnaround with three players, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, who are playing for their third summer in a row.
Two more players, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, would have played all three except for injuries. James, Wade and Howard played in the 2006 World Games, in which the U.S. finished third —- which meant they had to come back and qualify in the 2007 Tournament of the Americas.
Meanwhile, Brazil just failed to qualify for the Beijing Games with three of its NBA players, Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao, sitting out.
"My belief is totally different," said Anthony, Nene's teammate in Denver. "Myself, when I put a U.S. jersey on, I'm just not representing myself. I'm representing my family, I'm representing the city where I'm coming from, I'm representing the city where I play basketball, which is Denver and I represent the whole country. So I think it's real important to go out and represent your country if you get a chance. . . . Your team will always be there."
Indeed, the U.S. finished sixth in the World Games in Indianapolis in 2002, third in the Athens Olympics in 2004, then third in the World Games in Saitma, Japan, in 2006.
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