Valuable lessons were learned.
Because it lacked premium talent, the U.S. team was not particularly well-regarded and wasn't considered a favorite for the gold medal. They were given the nickname, "The B-Team."
But Granger learned a team can exceed the sum of its parts through a tight team bond, including a commitment to defense and a strong leadership structure.
And he's trying to bring those lessons to the Pacers. Granger aspires to be more than the team's leading scorer. He wants to be its unquestioned leader.
"Danny is doing a good job of leading on and off the court," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "The other night he had a barbecue for the whole team. I think that's a great form of leadership, getting everybody together off the court in a family event.
"He's been our best defensive player and I think that's a form of leadership. I think he's rebounding the basketball. His assist-turnover ratio is coming back. I've been very happy with his leadership."
The team outings are something new for the Pacers. They began just before training camp, when Granger helped arrange a trip to Bub's Burgers in the suburb of Carmel, Ind., a restaurant that had been featured on the Travel Channel show "Man vs. Food," in which host Adam Richman always takes on a food challenge. In this case, he had to eat three giant burgers dubbed The Big Ugly by the restaurant.
The Pacers, many of them, anyway, decided to try that challenge. Only Jeff Foster and free agent Lance Allred (since released) ate more than one.
But the point was to get the guys away from the court in a social setting to have the kind of fun that can strengthen the team bond.
"It's not only my responsibility but the other veterans on the team to make sure everyone has that message � whatever we have to do to win, that's what we're going to do," Granger said. "That has to be the main goal."
On the court, Granger has taken a much more aggressive approach to defense, leading by example on that end of the floor. Offensively, he has tweaked his jump shot and had been on red-hot roll before going 2-of-14 in Philadelphia Wednesday night.
"I really can't explain it," Granger said of the adjustment. "It's not something everybody would understand. I'm catching it differently, I guess. I can't explain it. But it feels a lot better."
Granger is also getting better shots this season than in the early stages of last year when injuries and slumps left him as the lone offensive threat on many nights.
"There's better floor spacing, we have more threats now," Granger said. "Mike (Dunleavy)'s a threat from the three, Roy (Hibbert)'s a threat inside, Darren (Collison)'s a threat whenever he has the ball in his hands. So I pick my spots and coach calls plays for me where he knows I like to get it and I can take higher-percentage shots than I've taken in the past."
There's no telling what Granger has in mind for next month's team outing.
"A lot of the new players are young," he said, "and we can really form bonds with each other."
Who knows? Maybe the Pacers, like Team USA a lightly regarded squad lacking in prime-time talent, can follow that example and overachieve in a big way.
