Denver Nuggets center Mason Plumlee praised his fellow NBA players who decided to continue playing for the national team despite the huge risk involved.
In the past several years, several NBA players sustained major injuries while on national team duties, including Paul George back in 2014. But despite the risk, several players are still willing to don the national colors, and Plumlee had nothing but praises for those who are willing to make the sacrifice.
Plumlee told Marc Stein of The New York Times that he received words of encouragement from Nuggets coach Mike Malone. The 29-year-old center said that Malone gave him the green light, pointing out that anything can happen at any given time regardless of the team that you are playing for.
“I appreciate the guys who still come out here and do this, because a lot of people would say, ‘If something like that could happen, why would you come out here and risk it?’ But I was talking with Coach Malone and he said, ‘You guys are in the gym playing anyway.’ If you’re playing basketball, you’re playing basketball,” Plumlee said.
The former Duke University standout is currently training for the USA basketball team that is set to compete in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup later this month in China.
The national team will not be at full strength after several superstars decided not to play in China this summer.
Follow Us
Subscribe