The 19th FIBA Basketball World Cup will be hosted in Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia from 25th August 2023 to 10th September 2023. The final will be held in the Philippines at the Mall Of Asia Arena and Team USA will hope to play this time, after embarrassingly losing against France in the quarter-finals of the 2019 tournament.
Team USA is in a group with Greece, Jordan, and New Zealand, and they will be expecting to make it to the knockout rounds of the competition. Here is what the Team USA roster will look like for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. There are 11 players for now, so another name will be added to the team moving forward.
Starting Lineup:
PG – Jalen Brunson
SG – Anthony Edwards
SF – Mikal Bridges
PF – Brandon Ingram
C – Jaren Jackson Jr.
Bench:
PG – Tyrese Haliburton, SG – Austin Reaves, SF – Cam Johnson, PF – Paolo Banchero, PF/C – Bobby Portis, C – Walker Kessler.
Team USA is always a favorite for any international basketball competition, and the FIBA World Cup is no different. They have won two of the last three events, in Turkey in 2010 and Spain in 2014. The World Cup is not quite on the same level as the Olympics though, and as such, the superstars don’t often turn up to play in the competition.
However, the roster so far looks excellent for the United States. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges have both emerged as stars in the NBA after moving to different New York franchises. Brunson averaged 24.0 points and 6.2 assists per game for the New York Knicks last season. Mikal Bridges was traded at the deadline but thrived in limited minutes with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 26.1 points per game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was the Defensive Player Of The Year in the NBA last season with the Memphis Grizzlies and is an elite inside presence. Anthony Edwards was named an All-Star in 2023, and Brandon Ingram made the team in 2020. This would be a very talented and young starting five for Team USA, even without the biggest names in the NBA.
The bench has some elite difference-makers as well. Walker Kessler had a case to be named Rookie Of The Year, and the actual ROTY, Paolo Banchero, will also play for Team USA. Los Angeles Lakers‘ sensation Austin Reaves is waiting to get paid big money and he is massively impactful on the court. Tyrese Haliburton, Bobby Portis, and Cam Johnson also bring unique skill sets that make this team hard to beat.
The team will have to be good to get a result in the tournament though. Their biggest competition will come in the form of defending champions, Spain, among others. Greece and Giannis Antetokounmpo are in their group, and France will be a danger even without Victor Wembanyama. Nikola Jokic has the confidence of a Finals MVP and will be a threat with Serbia, as will Luka Doncic with Slovenia.
The expectations will be high as ever, especially with the Olympics coming up in 2024. More stars might want to play then, so these players will have a small window to make their case as starters and regular players for Team USA. It’s hard to say whether they will be able to beat out the stiff competition and reclaim the title, but this roster will give them a great chance of getting it done.
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