Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker has heard the noise surrounding around what's expected to be a vulnerable Team USA heading into a looming 2019 FIBA World Cup. The 6-foot-1 floor general answered when USA Basketball came calling, despite being one of the many stars that changed teams over the offseason — a reason for which the Americans have lost plenty of star power.
Walker is keenly aware of how this Team USA squad is being viewed by many pundits, a vision that has only sparked the fire on him and his teammates.
“We are embracing it as much as we can. It’s adding fuel to the fire,” said Walker, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “A lot of us, it’s where we come from. We come from being underdogs, most of us. We’re hungry.”
The 29-year-old is among the oldest players in a very young squad and also the most decorated after earning an All-NBA nod this past season. He is slated to be the starter at point guard for Team USA, who took down Spain 90-81 during its first friendly on Friday.
The Americans will have three more tests with exhibitions games in Australia before departing for China to take on the group stage. Team USA will face the Australian national team on back-to-back outings in Melbourne before taking on Canada to finish the preparation games and taking on the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Japan in the group stage of competition.
Team USA must sweep those initial three games if they hope to build momentum for a young team with very little international experience before Walker can put that “hungry” fire to work during the elimination stage.
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