Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was on the US Olympic team that recently lost to foreign competitors.

He said that moment was the beginning of the rest of the world catching up with the United States. It was a wake-up call.

“I think we’ve respected the rest of the world since 2004, when we lost and won a bronze medal,” Wade said. “The game has grown all over the world. It’s open. Everyone has a chance. You can’t hide anything anymore. We get to see everything.”

The United States edged France on Saturday to win its fifth consecutive gold medal since losing in Athens, proving that the team must compete at the highest level to continue to be successful.

“I’m sitting here watching Serbia,” Wade said. “Even though they won bronze, they didn’t win gold. They’ll be back in four years. I’m looking at that French team. I’m looking at Canada. This is their first time together. They’ll be back in four years. I’m looking at Germany. There are 68 NBA players in this field alone and in four years there will probably be more. The world is good at basketball.”

Wade said the days when the United States expected victory without maximum effort are long gone.

“We continue to dominate the game when it comes to gold medals,” Wade said. “But it won’t be easy. This isn’t 1992 anymore. Everyone has to forget that. Times are different today.”

Shandel Richardson is the editor of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]

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