The last time Team USA lost an international basketball game can in September of 2006. Donovan Mitchell was probably preparing for elementary school when Greece was taking down the mighty Americans in Japan.
Nearly 13 years later, he was in the starting lineup as Team USA dropped another high-scoring heartbreaker in international competition.
In order to contextualize Team Australia’s win over Team USA on Saturday, it’s important to remember two things. First, it was only an exhibition game, but perhaps more importantly, the loss highlights Team USA’s vulnerability in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.