NBA GMs think Spain, Canada will challenge Team USA's dominance in next 10 years

In an annual poll of all 30 general managers in the NBA, team executives are predicting that two countries, Spain and Canada, are the likely challengers to Team USA’s dominance in international basketball.

The U.S.A. basketball national team has won the past four major competitions in international basketball winning two Olympic gold medals, in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London summer games, and two FIBA World Cups, in 2010 Turkey and 2014 Spain.

According to the GMs, via the annual poll of all executives posted on the league’s official website, Spain and Canada has the best chance of pulling off the upset against the Americans with votes of 34.5% and 32.8%, respectively, for the best challenger for Team USA. France and Croatia also got votes of 19.0% and 6.9%, respectively.

Outside Team USA, Spain has the most recognizable line-up with a national team roster and pool of current and former NBA players.

Led by the Gasol brothers, Marc of the Memphis Grizzlies and Pau of the Chicago Bulls, Spain is ranked No. 1 in Europe and No. 2 in the world, next to Team USA. Spain recently won the 2015 FIBA Europe Championship despite playing without the Grizzlies center but was led by Pau all the way to the Eurobasket title. Other members of that champion squad are former NBA players in Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and Victor Claver.

Also in the line-up was Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls with Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder missing the tournament but is still part of the pool.

For Team Canada, they have a bright future ahead in international competition with a roster featured by 2014 draft top pick Andrew Wiggins, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics, Corey Joseph of the Toronto Raptors, Robert Sacre of the Los Angeles Lakers and Nik Stauskas of the Philadelpia 76ers.

Meanwhile, France and Croatia has some NBA stars and prospects in its line-up for the next few years. France, which won the bronze medal in the recent Eurobasket, is ranked third in Europe and fifth in the world. The French squad is led by Tony Parker and Boris Diaw of the San Antonio Spurs, Nicolas Batum of the Charlotte Hornets, Joffrey Lauvergne of the Denver Nuggets, Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

Croatia is filled with NBA prospects in Damjan Rudez, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bojan Bogdanovic for the Brooklyn Nets and Mario Hezonja of the Orlando Magic. Dario Saric is also in the line-up, a big man whose NBA rights belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers and may join the NBA in a year or two.

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