Team USA Articles - Page 29

Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich is a big fan of Boston Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown. After finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in Team USA’s win over Brazil on Monday, Brown drew high praise from the legendary San Antonio Spurs coach. “He’s a strong player,” Popovich said of Brown, via […]

Team USA has gotten off to a perfect yet somewhat unimpressive 5-0 start in this 2019 FIBA World Cup, mustering the top seed in competition and now awaiting the first heavy hitter it will face in this tournament — France. Besides a 53-point scorching of 48th-ranked Japan in the third game of group play, the […]

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has completed his most immediate task upon taking the helm of Team USA in this 2019 FIBA World Cup, qualifying the Americans for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. USA Basketball breezed to a 5-0 mark in the group stage, becoming one of the two teams from the Americas […]

Team USA point guard Kemba Walker brushed off an illness en route to a convincing 16-point win over Brazil to finish off the secondary part of the group stage, racing to the quarterfinals as the top seed in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Walker was considered probable despite the illness and took the floor against […]

Team USA breezed past Brazil for an 89-73 win on Monday, improving to 5-0 and obtaining the top seed of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, as they head into the quarterfinals. The Americans also notched a spot in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics after finishing as the top-ranked team from the Americas during group competition. […]

Brazil national team head coach Aleksander Petrovic was ejected from Monday’s game against Team USA after earning two quick technicals in the first half. The coach picked up the second of two technicals at the 7:10 mark of the second quarter, lasting only a little over 12 minutes on the sidelines after he heatedly debated […]

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum returned to Team USA practice, but he will miss a third consecutive game as the Americans take on Brazil Monday in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The 6-foot-8 wing suffered a sprained ankle during Team USA’s overtime tilt against Turkey, rendering him out for at least two games, which he […]

Team USA forward Harrison Barnes isn’t ready to mend fences with Greece wing Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who took a cheap shot on the Sacramento Kings vet in the final minutes of their FIBA World Cup showdown. With 1:43 left in the USA-Greece second round matchup, Barnes was going for an uncontested dunk when Antetokounmpo hit him […]

Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker missed Team USA’s practice ahead of their FIBA World Cup game against Brazil, though he remains probable to play. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Walker is dealing with an unidentified illness that forced him to sit out their recent practice session. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum is progressing but remains out […]

Harrison Barnes believes that defense has to be USA Basketball’s calling card in the FIBA World Cup. Barnes, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, pointed out that the offensive part of the game has never been a problem for past USA teams. The same may not be true for this year’s version […]

San Antonio Spurs and Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich has always approached coaching with a dry sense of humor. From his on-court interviews to his press conferences, Pop is always a good soundbite. Popovich supplied yet another gem when asked about the defensive pressure that Team USA has applied to their opponents during the […]

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart says he, Jaylen Brown and other members of Team USA took offense to Thanasis Antetokounmpo — the brother of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo — fouling Sacramento Kings small forward Harrison Barnes hard in the final minutes of USA’s win over Greece. With 1:46 left in the game, Barnes poked […]

In a highly-anticipated match-up in Round 2 of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Team USA took care of business and strolled past Greece with a convincing 69-53 victory. However, despite the win, this version of Team USA still wound up on the wrong side history. Per ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter, their 69 points […]

Team USA smothered Giannis Antetokounmpo and raced past Greece with a convincing 69-53 win on Saturday, getting its first win of the second round of the 2019 FIBA World Cup and improving to 4-0 in competition. Kemba Walker led the way for Team USA, which struggled to hit from the floor, mustering a pedestrian 36% […]

Team USA receives a massive boost ahead of their FIBA World Cup showdown with Greece, with injured Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart expected to play. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Smart has returned to practice and is now expected to suit up for the Stars and Stripes in the second round of the competition. […]

Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich has coached plenty of NBA players that compete for their country in international play. From Tony Parker to Manu Ginobili, to Patty Mills, Pop has seen what happens when guys in the league represent their nation. The veteran coach claimed that playing for their country turns players that are […]

Carmelo Anthony is taking his hat off to the players who decided to participate in this year’s FIBA World Cup. For a variety of reasons, several prominent NBA players chose to withdraw from the 2019 FIBA World Cup, including Anthony Davis, CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard and Kyle Lowry. NBA stars that are still on Team […]

Team USA will be heading into the second round of the FIBA World Cup undefeated, but as they move on to the next phase of the tournament, their opponents can no longer be taken lightly. Their first test will be against Greece this Saturday, a team that is by 2018-19 NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The […]

It was a night to remember for Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, as he came up with arguably his best performance in the FIBA World Cup to date, leading Team USA to an absolute thrashing of Japan, 98-45. Brown was a walking highlight reel in this one, and one of his stand-out plays came in […]

Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura threw down a ferocious one-handed jam over Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner during Japan’s game against Team USA at the FIBA World Cup. With roughly five and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter of Thursday’s matchup, Hachimura received a pass on the left wing, then proceeded to make […]

Team USA finally produced the dominant performance the basketball world has been waiting for in the FIBA World Cup. Unfortunately for Japan, they were on the receiving end of a ruthless beating from the Americans, as the wire-to-wire victory ended with a final score of 98-45. Team USA was out to prove a point in […]

Team USA is down to just 10 players against Japan after it was announced that Marcus Smart will not play in the game on Thursday due to a left quad strain, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Marcus Smart is out for Team USA with a left quad strain vs. Japan. He will be day-to-day. Missed time […]

Team USA doesn’t have the highest levels of confidence at the moment. They don’t have their usual firepower as stars opted out; they also narrowly were at the receiving end of one of the tournament’s biggest upsets. Gregg Popovich decided to do something about that. If the team was to win the gold medal in […]

Although he’s been a busy man this offseason, Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura says he is excited to face Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Hachimura has been through a lot in a short period of time. The Wizards selected the Japanese-born forward with the ninth overall pick in this summer’s draft. From […]

Team USA squeezed past Turkey with a 93-92 overtime victory in their FIBA World Cup showdown on Tuesday. However, they did not come out of it unscathed, as starting forward Jayson Tatum turned his ankle in the dying seconds of the game. Brian Windhorst of ESPN confirmed that Tatum will miss at least the next […]

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens says small forward Jayson Tatum suffered a “moderate” left ankle sprain versus Turkey on Tuesday in China. Stevens says while Tatum will get an X-Ray on Wednesday, the injury “doesn’t sound like a big deal.” Brad Stevens says a moderate ankle sprain for Tatum. He will get an x-ray […]

Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio texted Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell “Welcome to FIBA” after Team USA defeated Turkey on Tuesday by just one point. Rubio is the staring point guard for Spain. He was teammates with Mitchell on Jazz for the past two seasons, so the two have a close relationship. Team […]

For Team USA to win gold at the FIBA World Cup in China, they are going to have to play better against the zone defense. Other countries, like Turkey on Tuesday, play a lot of 2-3 zone on defense, something we don’t see a lot of in the NBA. The 2-3 zone got to Team […]

Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Kemba Walker is not discouraged by Team USA’s tight win over Turkey on Tuesday in the FIBA World Cup. USA defeated Turkey by just one point, winning by a final score of 93-92. Walker, who finished with 14 points, says winning is all that matters to him and his fellow […]

Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum is “pissed” he missed the second of three free throws for Team USA on Tuesday against Turkey. Tatum was fouled by Cedi Osman with USA down 81-79. The Celtics forward made the first, missed the second, and made the third to send the game into overtime, where Team USA […]

Team USA narrowly escaped with a 93-92 overtime win over Turkey in Tuesday’s FIBA World Cup matchup. It was a poor showing from the American side, and head coach Gregg Popovich knows his team will need to be better going forward. Via eurohoops.net: “It was a heck of a game as we all know,” Popovich […]

Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle in overtime of Team USA’s narrow 93-92 victory over Turkey in the FIBA World Cup, but Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens still has no regrets about his players participating in the event. Stevens also noted that Tatum’s injury doesn’t seem to be serious: Brad Stevens on the Jayson Tatum […]

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum suffered an ankle sprain in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s overtime win over Turkey at the FIBA World Cup. At first, the severity of his injury was not clear, and some feared the worst. However, according to a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tatum is already feeling better. Jayson Tatum […]

Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner was a man relieved following Team USA’s razor-thin overtime victory against Turkey in the FIBA World Cup. The Americans eventually escape with the W, 93-92, but it wasn’t until the Turks gave them quite a scare. Following the highly-entertaining contest, Turner, who himself logged 11 points (on 3-of-7 shooting), nine […]

Team USA narrowly escaped Tuesday’s matchup against Turkey in the FIBA World Cup with a 93-92 overtime victory. Though they managed to carry the day, the American side may have lost Celtics guard Jayson Tatum due to an ankle injury. With under three seconds remaining in the overtime frame and the Turkish side leading by […]

Team USA just notched their second consecutive victory in the FIBA World Cup, in what turned out to be one of the best games in the early stages of this prestigious tournament. The Americans beat Turkey 93-92 in overtime, but to say it was a struggle for Team USA would be an understatement. Milwaukee Bucks […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris has a lot to look forward to when the NBA begins. However, all of his attention is currently focused on Team USA and their quest to win the FIBA World Cup. He is not usually a person you’d expect to represent the United States in international competition, but the withdrawal […]

With so many high-profile dropouts for Team USA ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, point guard Kemba Walker is the biggest star on the squad. The new Boston Celtics guard isn’t exactly a stranger to the limelight, but he’s still appreciative of all the love he’s receiving as Team USA’s top man. Walker got […]

Team USA faced off against the Czech Republic on Sunday in their first matchup in the group stage of the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. After defeating the Czechs 88-67, first-time head coach Gregg Popovich brought his patented quick wit with reporters overseas, teasing a member of the media. Answering a question about his impression […]