At first, the European trend in the NBA was quaint. An impact player here. A great shooter there. But after a stellar season for international players that saw Dirk Nowitzki get named to the All-NBA second team, Pau Gasol earn Rookie of the Year honors and Yao Ming take claim to the No. 1 pick in the draft, folks in the know are wringing their hands a bit.

	Yugoslavia's NBA talent-laden roster prompted Vlade Divac, left, to play for his country.

Is this the year Team USA and America's dream of basketball superiority take a beating?

Donnie Walsh, president of the Indiana Pacers, thinks so. "I think we're vunerable this year," he said. "We point to the Olympics as the best basketball in the world. The rest of the world points to this.

"We're sending a really good team, but it doesn't help us that we don't have our best players out there. Players like (Vlade) Divac and (Peja) Stojakovic play because it's a big deal to their countries. It won't be a big deal to us until we lose."

True. We don't have Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett or Jason Kidd. But could Team USA really lose?

It almost happened at the Goodwill Games when an upstart Brazil team featuring a young kid no one had heard of, Nene Hilario, took the U.S. to overtime. One year later, Team USA is facing the best international field ever.

The U.S. national team is still long on talent, but it's short on big-game experience. Only one player, Reggie Miller, has experience in an NBA Finals. Only two others, Antonio Davis and Paul Pierce, have played in a conference finals. Three players -- Andre Miller, Elton Brand and Jay Williams -- have never played one minute of an NBA playoff game.

Other teams to watch

Yugoslavia isn't the only team at the World Championships that can test the United States. ESPN.com spoke to several of the NBA's top international scouts about three other medal candidates in Indianapolis. Argentina. The Argentineans are loaded with talent. Led by Emmanuel Ginobili, an explosive, 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Argentina has a nice balance of inside toughness and outside quickness. It is a potent offensive team. Ginobili loves to put the ball on the floor and take it into traffic. Argentina's three big men, Luis Scola (drafted by the Spurs this year), former Sonic Ruben Wolkowyski and Fabricio Oberto, are all solid low-post scorers and physical defenders. The Argentines have a reputation as being the most unselfish team in the tournament. They won the Tournament of the Americas qualifying event by going 10-0 and winning by an average margin of 22.9 points. If they can play solid defense, they'll give the U.S. a real run. Turkey. Turkey has a huge front line anchored by soon-to-be Piston Mehmet Okur. Okur is a tough inside player with a nice, face-the-basket game. The team already got a nice taste of what he can do last weekend at the Pistons International Classic. On Saturday, Okur scored 33 points and added 11 rebounds, four blocks and four steals against a team of U.S. free agents. Turkey will also get major production from Kings guard Hedo Turkoglu and Ibrahim Kutluay, two of the best shooters in Europe. Add Euroleague regular-season MVP and former Rocket Mirsad Turkan to the mix and Turkey has plenty of weapons. Turkey's only weaknesses are point guard and lack of experience. This is the first time Turkey has ever played in Worlds. Spain. The loss of star point guard and Jazz prospect Raul Lopez was a real blow. Still, the Spaniards boast the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year in Pau Gasol down low along with highly touted big man Jorge Garbajosa. Both players have a nice inside/outside game that is hard to defend. But the key for Spain will be the up-tempo backcourt play of Juan Carlos Navarro (drafted by the Wizards in June). Navarro is a quick combo guard and an explosive scorer. Unfortunately with Lopez out, he'll have to take over the team's point-guard duties. Scouts have questioned over the last few years whether Navarro has the skills to play point in the pros. They'll get a good look in Indianapolis.

While no one doubts that the U.S. has the most talented team in the World Championships, experience matters. And teams such as Yugoslavia run circles around the U.S. when it comes to big-game savvy.

Yugoslavia, for example, has Divac and Stojakovic -- both of whom were seconds away from the NBA Finals last season. The defending world champs also have point guard Marko Jaric, who has led his former Italian team, Kinder Bologna, to the Euroleague finals the last two seasons. Yugoslavia's shooting guard, Dejan Bodiroga, was the Euroleague MVP this season.

But Yugoslavia's, and the rest of the world's, biggest advantage is familiarity. Its players have been together for years. The U.S. has just a two-week summer camp to get everyone on the same page.

"Yugoslavia has a real chance," Pistons international scouting guru Tony Ronzone said. "I think the U.S. are still clearly the favorites and will win the tournament, but the gap is closing. Teams like Yugoslavia have played together for so long. They have a ton of NBA talent, (they) are more comfortable playing the international rules and they're hungry. That's the recipe for an upset."

Should the U.S. start worrying? In Sunday night's 91-73 exhibition win over Germany, Dirk Nowitzki and Co. came within six points of the U.S. with two minutes remaining.

"Yeah, we're not playing beautiful basketball," U.S. coach George Karl said after the game. "But we have won both (exhibition) games and we have controlled both games. If having a double-digit lead is vulnerable, fine."

Still, Karl admitted that the team still hasn't found its groove. "We lack familiarity with one another," he said. "We're not making simple basketball plays, and that's kind of bothersome."

It should be more than bothersome. While Yugoslavia doesn't have the star power that the U.S. does, it has nine players who are either in the NBA or who have been drafted by an NBA club. Yugoslavia has the tournament's best center in Divac and great shooters in Stojakovic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Mladen Sekularac. And, next to the U.S. team, the Yugoslavs have the tourney's most experienced point-guard play in Jaric, Bodiroga and Milos Vujanic.

This is exactly why Divac changed his mind and decided to suit up one last time for Team Yugo.

"We have the talent to knock out the USA, but someone could also knock us out," Divac said. "Our goal is to win every game until the finals, meet the USA and see what happens."

The Yugos have the talent. They also have the motivation.

"In Yugoslavia, basketball is the No. 1 sport," Divac said. "They'll go crazy if we win. We're a small country and people love basketball. It's a big thing for them."

That's all well and good, but do they have that much talent and motivation?

"Yugoslavia really plays a control game," Ronzone said. "They'll try to slow it down on the U.S. They'll use Divac and Drobjnak in the low and high post and then force them to commit to either their shooters or their low-post players. But I think that the fact that this team has improved so much defensively will be what ultimately gives them a shot. They'll keep the game close and then hope they hit some big shots down the stretch."

Here's how Yugoslavia's roster, according to several NBA international scouts, breaks down:

The starting five

	Divac

Vlade Divac, center. He'll be the glue that holds this team together. Divac signed up after seeing the talent on the roster, and he'll be called upon to play big minutes. That shouldn't be an issue for Divac, who averaged almost 35 minutes a game against the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. Another thing to consider: Divac is royalty in Europe. He'll get Michael Jordan-type star treament from the international referees. Don't expect him to get into too much foul trouble.

	Drobnjak

Predrag Drobnjak, power forward. He can really bang if Yugoslavia needs him to, but he will spend most of the time playing the high post with Divac in the lineup. The good news for Yugoslavia is that from 15 feet in, he doesn't miss. Drobnjak is a solid defender who has improved immensely after just one season with the Sonics. When Divac goes to the bench, Drobnjak will move to center and work his power game.

	Bodiroga

Dejan Bodiroga, small forward. Most U.S. fans don't know him, but he's a legend in Europe. Bodiroga, drafted by the Kings in 1995, has been reluctant to play in the U.S. despite numerous offers. In fact, this summer, several NBA teams were willing to give up first-round picks to the Kings in return for Bodiroga's rights. But Bodiroga decided to sign another contract in Europe, ending the discussions. Bodiroga can play three different positions, including point guard. He's a great ball-handler, a dangerous outside shooter and one of the smartest players in Europe. He's relentless in taking the ball to the basket and averages a high number of free throws every game. Again, like Divac, he has some star power. If, for example, the team gets a Greek referee, expect Bodiroga to set up shop on the line. The only knock on Bodiroga is his defense. He has slow feet and will struggle to keep in front of such quick U.S. small forwards as Shawn Marion and Paul Pierce.

	Stojakovic

Peja Stojakovic, shooting guard. He's the No. 1 option in the Yugoslavian's offense. By now you know Peja can light it up from beyond the arc, but it was his surprising improvement on the defensive end that helped push the Kings to the brink of the NBA Finals. When Peja and Bodiroga are on the floor together, teams can't afford to play zone defense and leave lots of opportunities for Divac and Drobjnak down low.

	Jaric

Marko Jaric, point guard. Many consider Jaric to be the top point guard in Europe. He's tall (6-7), has an old-school pass-first mentality and plays the control type of offense that Yugoslavia loves to run. He isn't the quickest guy on the court, but he's extremely tough, very aggressive and has a knack for hitting the clutch shot when his team needs one. Interestingly, he'll be going head to head with new Clippers teammate Andre Miller if Yugoslavia and the U.S. match up. Think he has something to prove?

The bench

	Radmanovic

Vladimir Radmanovic, forward. Radmanovic was named to the NBA All-Rookie second team last season. He'll get major minutes for Yugoslavia because of his versatility. He's comfortable playing both the "three" and the "four." He has a nice inside and outside game and is one of the best athletes on the team. When Divac is out, Drobnjak will move to center and Radmanovic will play power forward. When Bodiroga is out, Radmanvoic will play small forward.

Milos Vujanic, point guard. Some scouts feel the Knicks got a real steal with the 6-4 Vujanic in the second round. He's a quick, athletic point guard who gives the team a real change of pace when Jaric is taking a breather. He loves to push the ball; you're likely to see a quicker team tempo when he's on the floor. He's a scrappy defender and, like Jaric, has a knack for finding the open man.

Igor Rakocevic, guard. His high-flying antics in Yugoslavia have stuck him with the nickname "White Jordan." Those who saw him perform at the Shaw Summer Pro League in Boston came away thinking that might be a little much. His ability to play both backcourt positions, not his dunking prowess, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves. "He is more typical of an American player," Divac said. "He jumps very high, looks to score and has a lot of heart. He has a lot of moves, like Jason Williams. He is a little one, but he likes to dunk with two hands. He doesn't hesitate to drive in the middle of big people and put up shots."

Milos Gurovic, small forward. The Yugoslavians won't deviate much from their eight-man rotation. However, if one more player does get into the game, it's likely to be Gurovic, a 6-9 sharpshooter.

Is now the time for Yugoslavia?
Whether eight is enough to defeat the U.S. isn't the only question people are asking. Sooner or later, it's bound to happen. Even the Globetrotters lose on occasion.

The bigger question is whether today's international players are better than the top U.S. players.

"If you're talking about our best versus their best, the U.S. wins hands down," said Dennis Lindsey, the Rockets' director of player personnel and the guy behind the drafting of Yao Ming. "A team of Shaq, Kobe, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Jason Kidd would be unstoppable."

That is the U.S. Dream Team. Right now, USA Basketball is living in the real world, not a dream one. Team USA understands it and claims it is prepared.

"You can't take anyone for granted. You can't take anyone lightly," Reggie Miller said. "International basketball has grown. They are getting much better, and a lot of our (NBA) stars are international players, like Dirk, Vlade and Peja Stojakovic, Pau Gasol. You can't take any of these guys lightly. They have taken what they've learned in the NBA and have brought it back to their own countries."

Can the Yugoslavians take back the gold medal? We shall see.

Chad Ford writes the daily NBA Insider column for ESPN Insider. To get a free 30-day trial, click here.