USA Men's And Women's World Championship Teams Share USA Basketball's Team Of The Year Honors

Dec. 7 , 2010 • Colorado Springs, Colo.

In recognition of outstanding, gold-medal performances at the FIBA World Championships, USA Basketball today announced the USA men's and women's World Championship teams as co-recipients of the 2010 USA Basketball Team of the Year Award.

The USA women stood atop the World Championship podium for the first time since 2002, while the USA men captured their first gold medal at the Worlds since 1994.

"I think what you are asked to do (in the World Championship) is very difficult," said Geno Auriemma, USA Women's National Team and University of Connecticut head coach. "You have to win nine games in 11 days. To be able to do it with so little preparation is incredibly challenging. To come together as a group that quickly and to play that well and be as dominant as we were, I think that makes them pretty special."

"The team was young and had very little international experience," said Mike Krzyzewski, USA Men's National Team and Duke University head coach. "Early on, it made a commitment to defense and creating quality scoring opportunities. As it gained experience playing together, and confidence from success, the team fought its way to the 2010 FIBA World Championship. All of the players were a pleasure to coach and willing to do whatever it took to bring home a gold medal. They were deserving champions."

The USA Basketball Board of Directors is responsible for selecting USA Basketball's annual coach, player and team of the year awards.

"Winning both the men's and women's FIBA World Championships is an impressive accomplishment, and these certainly were two very impressive teams," said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO. "The World Championships are incredibly difficult tournaments to win because of the strong competition and demanding schedule, and USA Basketball couldn't be more proud of these two teams for meeting the challenges. Both teams played with incredible teamwork and sportsmanship, and to play both host countries in the finals was very exciting."

The 2010 announcement marks the 15th time USA Basketball has presented the Team of the Year Award. The honor has been earned by the historic 1996 USA Women's National Team/Olympic Team; 1997 USA Women's Junior World Championship Team; 1998 and 2002 USA Women's World Championship squads; 1999 USA Men's Tournament of the Americas Team; 2000 and 2004 USA Women's Senior National/Olympic teams; the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team; the 2003 USA World Championship for Young Women Team; the 2005 USA U19 World Championship for Women Team; the 2006 Men's Senior National Team; the 2007 USA Men's Senior National Team and USA Women's National Team; the 2008 U.S. Men's and Women's Olympic Teams; and the 2009 USA Men's U19 World Championship Team.

USA Men's World Championship Team

Without any 2008 Olympians on the roster and featuring six players under the age of 22, the USA men compiled a 9-0 record at the 2010 FIBA World Championship Aug. 28-Sept. 11 in Istanbul, Turkey. Relying on depth and defense, the USA won its nine games by an average of 24.6 points per contest.

The USA's Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) was named MVP of the tournament and to the five-member All-Tournament Team, and his teammates included Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets), Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers), Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers), Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

Assisting Krzyzewski were Syracuse University's Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan and Toronto Raptors head mentor Jay Triano.

The USA opened preliminary round play with a 106-78 win over Croatia, followed by a 99-77 victory over Slovenia, a 70-68 win over Brazil, an 88-51 victory over Iran and a 92-57 defeat of Tunisia. Downing Africa champ Angola 121-66 in the eight-finals, the Americans topped Russia 89-79 in the quarterfinals and earned an 89-74 win against Lithuania in the semifinals. In the gold medal game against host and undefeated Turkey, the USA recorded an 81-64 victory to finish with a perfect record and the gold medal.

While holding teams to 38.1 percent shooting from the field, the U.S. defense allowed its opponents an average of just 68.2 points per game. The USA ranked first in 12 of the 21 major team statistical categories and second in four categories, including No. 1 finishes in points averaged (92.8), scoring margin (+24.6), field goal percentage (.497), rebounds (41.7 rpg.), assists (18.2 apg.) and steals (10.6 spg.).

Additionally, Krzyzewski led the USA Men's National Team to a 4-0 exhibition record prior to the World Championship. As part of the Global Community Cup, the USA earned an 86-55 win over France on Aug. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York; a 77-61 win over Lithuania on Aug. 21 and a narrow 86-85 victory against Spain on Aug. 22 in Madrid, Spain; and an 87-59 blowout of Greece on Aug. 25 in Athens, Greece.

USA Women's World Championship Team

Despite naming the team two days prior to the start of play and having just one practice together as an official 12-member squad, the USA women captured a 9-0 record and a gold-medal finish in the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women Sept. 23 - Oct. 3 in Ostrava and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Americans averaged an impressive 96.2 points per game and won their games by an incredible average margin of 35.1 points per contest.

While Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) was named to the five-member All-Tournament Team, the USA also featured Jayne Appel (San Antonio Silver Stars), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Maya Moore (University of Connecticut) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx).

Assisting Auriemma were DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno, Los Angeles Sparks head mentor Jennifer Gillom and Atlanta Dream head coach/general manager Marynell Meadors.

The USA opened preliminary round play with a 99-73 win over Greece, followed by a 108-52 blowout of Senegal and an 81-60 defeat of France. In second round action, the USA downed Canada 87-46 and Belarus 107-61 before knocking off defending World Champion Australia 83-75. The U.S. women topped South Korea 106-44 in the quarterfinals, and then beat Spain 106-70 in the semifinals. Facing host Czech Republic in the gold medal game, the USA recorded an 89-69 victory to finish undefeated and claim gold.

The USA ranked first in nine and second in seven of the 21 major team statistical categories, including No. 1 rankings in points scored (866), points averaged, scoring margin, field goal percentage (.549), rebounding margin (+18.0), assists (15.3 apg.) and steals (15.9 spg.).

Featuring 11 players who scored between 12.0 and 5.1 points per game, the Americans held opponents to an average of just 61.1 points per game and a cold 38.5 shooting percentage overall.

Leading up to the World Championship, the USA Women's National Team compiled a 4-1 mark during its exhibition play, including a 99-72 win over WNBA stars on July 10 in Uncasville, Conn.; an 89-56 win over Australia on Sept. 10 and a 85-69 victory over Spain on Sept. 12 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.; and a 83-77 loss to Australia on Sept. 17 and a 93-51 won over Senegal on Sept. 18 in Salamanca, Spain.

USA Basketball

Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions.

USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all of FIBA's world ranking categories, including combined, men's, women's, boys and girls rankings.