Photo Credit: ICON SPORTSWIRE
Team USA 2017 – The Worst Team USA Of All Time
China will host the FIBA World Cup in 2019. We can expect some of the biggest names of today’s basketball to partake. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Paul George, DeMar DeRozan and many other NBA stars. Since Gregg Popovich will be coaching, even LeBron James is considering a comeback.
But, Team USA in 2017 looks a lot different. It is filled with G-League players many fans are unfamiliar with.
This is mainly because of the FIBA’s schedule changes. The FIBA has released a new qualifying format for this year, making it impossible for NBA players to play for their respective countries. For Team USA 2017 this concerned the AmeriCup 2017, as well as the upcoming world cup qualifiers.
Team USA was able to land Jeff Van Gundy as its head coach. The now ABC analyst and commentator has already coached in the NBA Finals and will most likely be the most experienced and known member of Team USA 2017.
During this summer’s AmeriCup, Team USA destroyed every opponent and cruised to the Finals, eventually winning it all, even though the team played without any NBA stars. They even won their games by an average of 23.5 points.
Now, the qualifying tournament is about to start, and USA Basketball announced the roster:
Larry Drew II (Sioux Falls Skyforce); Reggie Hearn (Reno Bighorns); Xavier Munford (Wisconsin Herd); and AmeriCup MVP Jameel Warney (Texas Legends). They will be joined by: Markel Brown (Oklahoma City Blue); Semaj Christon (free agent); Jarell Eddie (Windy City Bulls); Amile Jefferson (Iowa Wolves); Kennedy Meeks (Raptors 905); Elijah Millsap (Iowa Wolves); Donald Sloan (Texas Legends); and Travis Wear (South Bay Lakers).
In case you were wondering, the roster combines for 511 NBA games. Donald Sloan (218 NBA games) leads the pack, in front of Brown (109), Millsap (69), Christon (64), and Wear (51).
“USA Basketball has put together a versatile roster that has a mix of youth and experience highlighted by our four returning players from this summer’s AmeriCup gold medal team,” Van Gundy said in a statement. “Puerto Rico and Mexico are outstanding teams that are extremely well coached, and we will have our hands full in our games against them. We are excited about the challenge, and I know we all have great pride in representing our country.”
The Team’s first qualifying games are against Puerto Rico on November 23, and against Mexico on November 26.
