Team USA finished a lowly seventh in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, which Team Spain won, and many questions arose thereafter revolving around the roster that Head Coach Gregg Popovich and other NBA luminaries had put together for the event. One notable exclusion was Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, who was cut in favor of Myles Turner and Mason Plumlee.

Clearly, the omission still stings for the 22-year-old Heat center as he posted something along those lines on Twitter:

Team USA in basketball terms has long been seen as an unstoppable juggernaut led by the greatest players in the world. However, as the sport has become more international in scope, the dominance of U.S.-born players has waned – coming to a head in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

While the ignominy of losing a Team USA spot still needles, it likely led to Adebayo pushing himself to greater heights when the 2019-20 season was being undertaken, as the former Kentucky Wildcat made his first All-Star team on the back of a strong team and impressive all-around stats in his third season in the league.

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Adebayo had already bested his previous career-high in minutes with 2235, and his per-game numbers of 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals conveyed a striking sense of his overall impact on both ends of the court for Miami.

Most notable are those passing numbers. For an astoundingly athletic and burly center, Adebayo’s 333 total assists were just outside the top 20. Not bad for someone who was passed over by Team USA and his impressive play might be his ticket to a guaranteed spot.