Steve Kerr lamented the transitory nature of national team duty at major tournaments following the United States' 127-118 overtime defeat to Canada in the bronze medal game of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Kerr told reporters that "I feel bad for my guys."

"It's hard to build continuity because we have so much turnover from year to year," he said. "We have to focus on what's winning a FIBA game. The NBA is very different from FIBA and some things will be good and vice versa. There's a lot to learn for sure."

There was a time when USA Basketball could simply assemble a star-laden roster and watch it roll over the rest of the world. Even a squad that was missing some heavy hitters managed to win gold at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

But the aura of invincibility disappeared a while ago, especially in the World Cup.

Some might see Kerr's comments as an excuse to pass the buck for a disappointing loss. However, it seems inescapable to conclude at this point that the extent to which Team USA can turn over from one tournament to the next is a clear issue.

NBA.com's John Schuhmann noted in August how the United States didn't have a single player with senior-level national team experience in the World Cup. Neither was there a player who had earned an All-NBA nod, the first time that has happened since NBA stars were added to the player pool.

The qualifying schedule for an international tournament makes it tough for the United States to effectively roll with the same roster from start to finish. It's not like in soccer, where the biggest leagues all go on pause to accommodate national team fixtures.

As a result, the players for the tournament itself will be dramatically different from the ones who helped punch Team USA's ticket to the event.

USA Basketball officials might have to dramatically rethink how they buildup to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, though. A few tuneup exhibitions may not be enough to establish the kind of on-court cohesion that Kerr—assuming he stays on—and his staff will need.

Having LeBron James, for example, would undoubtedly help in the quest for gold, but this isn't 1992 anymore.