Speaking as an American, here is my issue with threads like this. I am a big fan of two international sports, basketball and soccer (football).
In soccer, the USA is told that they are not important because they are not good enough and the European/World fans and players are justified in ignoring American players and teams due to their lack of capabilities when compared to the big powers.
However, in basketball, the USA is clearly the most dominant, yet still gets criticized for not showing proper respect for the European/World players, teams and leagues, which are all inferior to the American versions.
So, my problem is that people want it both ways in criticizing the American. In soccer, they judge us by our level of play and, in basketball, by our acceptance of the international aspects of the sport.
In reality, the American basketball team is in a no-win situation. Winning is expected and often a relief. Then, you have to deal with countries looking for any reason whatsoever to despise you and you wonder why even to bother. Fortunately for me, I am just a big basketball and USA fan, so I enjoy every win, but I can certainly understand why an American player wouldn't sign up every year to deal with all the crap.