LAS VEGAS - The United States probably had the best basketball team in the world in 2004.

Sure, Argentina won the gold medal in the Olympics, and the Americans could only manage a bronze after losing three times.

But that’s not the U.S. team we’re talking about.

The one that earned the Americans a spot in Athens included Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Jermaine O’Neal and Ray Allen. It went undefeated in the 2003 Olympic qualifier while winning by 30.9 points per game, including a 106-73 victory over Argentina in the championship game.

Citing injuries or indifference, all of those players took a pass on the Olympics. But what if they had decided to play?

“Well, I think we would have won the gold,” said Kidd, who had a knee injury. “That’s the way we approached everything, is that we have one goal and that was to win the gold. We qualified in Puerto Rico and I thought we had enough firepower and defense. ... I think just the knowledge and experience going into Greece would have definitely helped.”

Problem was, by then it was obvious all of America’s best players weren’t going to commit to playing international tournaments, and the ones who did couldn’t be trusted to honor those commitments.

How the United States dealt with that problem then, versus now, is the reason the Americans should be in better shape heading into the 2008 Olympics. The Americans no longer react to their withdrawals, they plan for them.

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo started with a roster of 24 players, and when that wasn’t good enough in 2006, he added eight more this year. So rather than scrambling to find a replacement at the last minute when a player is forced to pull out, the Americans just pick from somebody they already know wants to play, and who they think is good enough.

If all those players had been healthy, the Americans could have gone with a starting five in the FIBA Americas tournament of Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion and Paul Pierce, all part of the national team program and good enough to push the starting unit that is here now.

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In 2004, replacements were picked without any rhyme or reason. The Americans grabbed a host of young players, even though international play favors veterans who have played it before. Stephon Marbury was tabbed to be the point guard, even though it turned out coach Larry Brown hated the way he played — a problem that would later get worse when both were in New York with the Knicks.

And when the team was crying out for a 3-point threat, the Americans gave their last spot to Emeka Okafor, who had just finished a terrific career at Connecticut but doesn’t spend much time hanging out behind the arc.

The three losses in Athens confirmed the Americans’ mistakes — but they say they’ve learned from them.

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“I think what we have going for us now is we understand the European game a little bit more,” Kobe Bryant said. “I think some of the adversity the team’s had in the past is kind of helping us now because we understand those teams a little bit better. We know their strengths, we know their weaknesses.”

And their own.

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Colangelo identified international experience as another U.S. shortcoming, and that is now being addressed. The Americans practiced before this tournament against a select team of young NBA players who were viewed as possible candidates for the 2010 world championships or 2012 Olympic teams. FIBA referees were brought in to call the games under international rules, giving the players familiarity with the game long before they need it.

“You’ve got guys that are 21 and 22 years old that haven’t had the opportunity to play the international game,” Kidd said. “I started when I was in college playing the international game and had that opportunity to be exposed to it, and it’s a little bit different. And I think as these guys get older, the more that they are involved, it’ll be a little bit easier for them.”