Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich announced the official 12-man roster for the upcoming World Cup in China. kyle Kuzma will not participate at the World Cup because of a left ankle injury, and he also didn’t play in an exhibition game against Australia, which the Americans lost 98-94.
These 12 players will travel to China: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings), Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets), Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets), Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers), and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
Team USA's final FIBA World Cup roster:
Harrison Barnes
Jaylen Brown
Joe Harris
Brook Lopez
Khris Middleton
Donovan Mitchell
Mason Plumlee
Marcus Smart
Jayson Tatum
Myles Turner
Kemba Walker
Derrick White pic.twitter.com/IGT5EOY8pg— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 24, 2019
As said earlier, Kuzma did not participate in Saturday’s 98-94 exhibition defeat to Australia, which snapped a 78-game international winning streak by the Americans, and was the first loss in almost 13 years.
Kuzma did score 12 points in Team USA’s victory against Australia in an exhibition game on Thursday, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. He will now return to Los Angeles and focus on recovery and preparing for the next NBA campaign. White fell hard in Saturday’s game, injuring his left eye in the process. It required him to get four stitches over the left eye. Smart, on the other hand, returned to the lineup after missing the previous three weeks with a calf injury.
The FIBA World Cup starts on August 31 in Shanghai, China. Team USA will open the tournament against the Czech Republic next Saturday, and they are hoping to pull off a FIBA World Cup three-peat, which never happened in the 69-year history of the event.
However, the Australians showed the world that the Americans are vulnerable, and even though it was only a friendly game, the Boomers exposed some of Team USA’s weaknesses.
