This summer, the 2019 FIBA World Cup will being taking place in China. Which players will make Coach Popovich and Jerry Colangelo’s USA Basketball roster?
The 2019 NBA Playoffs are in full swing as teams continue to fight for their right to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. For others, it is the start of a long offseason. Players whose teams missed the playoffs like Bradley Beal and Mike Conley may not have to wait for the start of the 2019-20 regular season to begin playing competitive basketball again. That is because USA Basketball is gearing up for the 2019 FIBA World Cup this summer in China.
This time last year, USA Basketball announced their 35-man roster for the Men’s National Team for the next three year. The usual suspects like LeBron James and Stephen Curry are part of the talent pool as well as new faces like Devin Booker and Myle Turner. Many of these players also partook in Team USA’s mini camp last summer in Las Vegas.
Despite having a choice of 35 players to construct the 12 man World Cup roster, many players may not be available for Team USA. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving are all free agents this summer and may not be available as a result. Same goes for Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Klay Thompson, Isaiah Thomas, and Kemba Walker. Players like DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Victor Olapido, and John Wall will most likely still be recovering from injuries, taking them out of consideration.
LeBron James will begin filming Space Jam 2 this summer, ending any chance of his USA Basketball participation this year.
Unlike the Summer Olympics, USA Basketball tends to include more second-rate or up and coming talent from their pool of players for the FIBA World Cup. For their 2014 World Cup roster, USA Basketball included players like Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, and Mason Plumlee as part of the 12 man roster. In 2010, Team USA gave rising stars like Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Derrick Rose their first shot playing with the Senior Team.
Here are the 12 most likely players who will join Team USA Basketball this summer in China.