United States coach Steve Kerr, deprived of his NBA stars for the Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia which begins on Friday, praised the merits of his rejuvenated and “hungry” group to erase the misadventure of 2019.
Team USA will begin its campaign on Saturday in Manila, against New Zealand, four years after failing in the quarter-finals in China, against France (89-79), with, already, a workforce deprived of its biggest stars.
It will still be with a bis team, while the NBA stars have got into the habit of shunning the competition, which takes place less than a year from the Paris Olympic Games (July 26-August 12, 2024).
So not Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden or Jayson Tatum, but a “hungry and rising” group, Steve Kerr said on Thursday. “We have a very good group, who work hard every day,” he added, referring to players who “can form a team in a short time”.
Captain, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson (26), recalled this “common goal which is to win”. In addition to Brunson, Anthony Edwards (Minnesota, 22), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana, 23), Austin Reaves (Lakers, 25), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn, 26), Brandon Ingram (Pelicans, 25) or the ‘Rookie’ of the 2023 season Paulo Banchero (20 years old) will try to do better than in 2019.
Steve Kerr also said that the United States would try to go for the gold, and “if we don’t there will be a lot of criticism and we will accept it”. The Americans have perfectly concluded their preparation for the World Cup-2023 with a record of five victories in as many meetings.
