USA Basketball is struggling to find the talent to take part in August's upcoming training camp and the consequent FIBA 2019 World Cup. Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker once prospected as an invite, but he was quick to tell Team USA director Jerry Colangelo not to count on him for this year's ensemble.
According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Booker chose to remain off the shortlist of invitees to focus on his health heading into the 2019-20 season — a pathway many have chosen recently — reason for which he was never invited in the first place, according to Colangelo.
Booker was part of the 2016 USA Select Team that trained with and scrimmaged against the 2016 Olympic Team, and while this could have been his big break to become the red, white, and blue's featured scorer, he's put his health before glory.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard ended last season with an ankle injury and missed several games due to a nagging hamstring injury. He also finished the 2017-18 season with a hand injury that ultimately required offseason surgery. Booker has been unable to finish his last two seasons with the injuries piling up, but he's already returned to the court, getting in some scrimmage action with Andrew Wiggins and Ben Simmons.
Ben Simmons, Devin Booker and Andrew Wiggins in some summer scrimmage action 👀 (via @ChrisJHoops, @swishcultures_) pic.twitter.com/z5DDLLuSij
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 24, 2019
Booker averaged a career-high 26.6 points per game and another best in assists with 6.8 per game, but due to his injury-prone nature in the last two years, he's chosen to take the careful approach. The four-year phenom is one of many young and veteran players who have turned down invitations to play for Team USA, whose roster looks as talent-depleted as ever before.
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