According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, five of the United States’ top rising stars will be joining Team USA for Training Camp next month.
They are the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green, Sacramento Kings’ Keegan Murray and OKC Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. The five will be part of the USA’s Select Team.
That means that they will compete against Team USA’s 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup national team in training camp.
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Team USA’s training camp for the World Cup kicks off on Aug. 3 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
This year’s national team will be led by Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr. The team’s roster consists of established NBA stars like Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jaren Jackson Jr. It also features some up-and-coming young players and a few well-respected role players.
Per Charania, the USA Select Team will be coached by Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. However, the full 12-man roster has yet to be announced. Following training camp, a few of the Select Team players will be selected to travel with Team USA to the Philippines.
There, they will be eligible to serve as injury replacements before the start of the World Cup.
Also Read: Top 10 teams that can win FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
How did the five players selected to USA Select Team fare last season?
Among the five players named in the USA Select Team, four are top-4 picks from the 2021 and 2022 NBA drafts.
Cade Cunningham was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft. He has shown flashes of becoming a primary scoring option for the Detroit Pistons. However, the 21-year-old combo guard was limited by a shin injury that required surgery last season.
Cunningham averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 3-pointers per game on 41.5% shooting over 12 games.
Jalen Green was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft and led the Houston Rockets in scoring last season.
The 21-year-old shooting guard averaged 22.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.8 spg and 2.5 3pg on 41.6% shooting over 76 games.
Chet Holmgren was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft. He has yet to suit up for the OKC Thunder due to a foot injury suffered before his rookie season that required surgery.
However, the 21-year-old versatile rim-protecting big man recently participated in NBA Summer League and looks ready for his upcoming rookie season.
Keegan Murray was the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft and played a key role on the Sacramento Kings last season as a floor-spacing forward.
The 22-year-old sharpshooter averaged 12.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.8 spg and 2.6 3 pg on 45.3% shooting over 80 games.
As for Jalen Williams, he was the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft. However, he still proved to be one of the top rookies last season with the OKC Thunder.
The 22-year-old wing averaged 14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg and 1.0 3pg on 52.1% shooting over 75 games.
Also Read: 5 NBA stars who won’t feature in FIBA World Cup 2023: Players, teams and more
