Basketball is huge in Asia and may be the 2nd most popular team sport in the world- In large part because China is so huge but it's also played all over the world- Europe, South America, Africa, even Australia had a pretty good team this year. The NBA is the dominant league but the Euroleague isn't too far behind and the NBA is filled with players from all over the world. The UK is one of the few places it hasn't gained much of a foothold.
The US has had strong teams finish 6th, 3rd and 3rd at the 2002 Worlds, 2004 Olympics and 2006 Olympics, respectively. Our last championship was a close win against France in 2000. If we can beat the world champions Spain tomorrow then we win gold! 8)