Jackson will compete with USA Basketball for the first time since 2011 when he won gold at the 2011 FIBA U16 Americas Championship. Cook, a member of the gold medal-winning 2009 U U17 national teams, will be on his fourth assignment with USA Basketball and first since the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit. The two men making their first appearances on the senior national level have prior junior national team experience. The team went 2-0 in tilts with Mexico and Puerto Rico in games the USA hosted in Washington, D.C.Īmong other players to participate on prior World Cup or World Cup Qualifying experiences are Frazier, (February 2019), Jenkins (November 2018) and Jeffries, who was a member of the select team that trained with the 2019 Men’s National Team leading up to the World Cup.ĭemps and Mika will return to USA Basketball competition after playing with one another as members of the February 2020 USA Basketball Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team. Returning from the February 2022 USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team are Bell, Galloway, King and Stockton. This World Cup Qualifying Team includes Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook, Cody Demps, Michael Frazier, Langston Galloway, Justin Jackson, DaQuan Jeffries, John Jenkins, George King, Eric Mika, David Stockton and Noah Vonleh. Each has also previously played with USA Basketball on either a national team or junior national team capacity dating back to 2009.
TEAM USA BASKETBALL PROFESSIONAL
He will provide a punch at either guard position, and having two players that can realistically shoot 50-40-90 during the Olympics would put Team USA a cut above the rest of the field.The 12 athletes slated to compete for the USA have years of professional experience in the NBA, NBA G League and professional international leagues. Many would think Damian Lillard would be the choice here, but we feel Brogdon is the better fit. The surprise inclusion here is Malcolm Brogdon. He will provide excellent scoring off the bench along with leadership in pressured moments. Kemba Walker gets a slot on the roster because of his commitment to Team USA while leading them in the FIBA World Cup. Curry is the best point guard in the NBA right now, and his inability to play on the 2016 team due to injuries will fuel him next year in Tokyo. When Stephen Curry confirmed that he would be playing for Team USA, it was likely the first domino to fall of an influx of superstars heading to the roster.
Point guards: Stephen Curry, Kemba Walker, and Malcolm Brogdon Gregg Popovich (left) and Kemba Walker of Team USA basketball. With a potential roster of NBA stars making them available for 2020, we will look at the perfect team that should secure gold in Tokyo. The result was three gold medals in 2008, 2012, and 2016 before handing over the reins to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
When Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski took over the team, he emphasized building a cohesive group of players that were comfortable playing with each other. With several top players in the NBA passing up the opportunity, Kemba Walker led the team, but it didn’t have much chemistry or rhythm. Finishing in seventh place for the FIBA Basketball World Cup was a shock for the Team USA men’s basketball team.