- Trae Young did not make the cut for Team USA
- Young did not make a great case for himself in his last outing
- The Hawks guard shared his thoughts on his omission
NBA insider Tim MacMahon revealed why Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young didn’t play for Team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Speaking to fellow colleague Brian Windhorst on his Hoop Collective podcast, the ESPN analyst said he had heard that Young did not make a great case for himself during his last time at the Team USA program (via HoopsHype).
“I heard Trae Young did not make a great case for himself during his previous time at the Team USA program.”
To which Windhorst responded:
“I will tell you that in 2019 before China, Trae was on the Select team. The US needed a point guard and Gregg Popovich promoted Derrick White. That obviously was his point guard at the time, and Trae Young and De’Aaron Fox, both, I believe, I know Trae Young, I feel like Fox, I had to check myself, but I thought Fox looked pretty good in that. We were able to see parts of the practices on the scrimmages.”
As far as his national career CV goes, Young was a member of the U.S. men’s national U18 team that bagged a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps who was on the discussion panel as well with MacMahon and Windhorst, picked the point guards he would choose over Young.
“I would pick Steph, I would pick Jalen Brunson, I would pick Tyrese Haliburton, I would probably pick Jrue Holiday.”
“I would pick Steph, I would pick Jalen Brunson, I would pick Tyrese Haliburton, I would probably pick Jrue Holiday”
– ESPN’s Tim Bontemps on American Point Guards he’d take over Trae Young
(Via Hoop Collective) pic.twitter.com/c8IfNrJ0vc
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) August 8, 2023
Young’s resume in the NBA speaks for itself, as been named to two All-Star teams over the course of his career in the league.
He also made the All-NBA Third Team in 2022 but was still one of the notable absentees from the FIBA World Cup roster. Previously, Fadeaway World’s Lee Tran detailed why Young was snubbed from the squad.
This past season, Young led Atlanta to the first round of the playoffs and averaged 26.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 10.2 assists. The Hawks lost to the Boston Celtics in the postseason, but Young’s performances received positive thoughts from experts.
Trae Young Shares His Thoughts On Team USA Exclusion
Earlier, Trae Young was on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast and shared his views on being omitted from the Team USA World Cup roster.
“I would love to play with guys and show off my passing and not have to go out and score a lot and just be there if they need me to,” Young said. “I’d be happy to, obviously, I’d love to play, but I respect the OGs and understand you need to take your turn, but I believe that I should be on there,” Young said.
The present roster contains some known names, Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, Brandon Ingram, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Trae Young was a notable absentee and huge surprise that he was not part of the Team USA roster. The guard is a proven matchwinner, and the side would have massively benefitted from his presence.
Now, it remains to be seen how they fare in the marquee tournament without Young in the mix when they play their first game against New Zealand on August 26.
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