Report: USA Basketball Plans to Check About Zion Williamson's Interest in 2019 World Cup
Zion Williamson may have just played the last game of his freshman season in college, but USA Basketball might end up bringing the projected No. 1 pick to China this summer.
Marc Stein of The New York Timesreports USA Basketball plans to gauge Williamson's interest in playing on the 12-man squad in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Williamson is fresh of an NCAA tournament run that finished in disappointing fashion as his Duke squad was bounced in the Elite Eight by Michigan State despite coming into the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
If Williamson were to join Team USA for the World Cup, he would be following a path similar to Duke legend Christian Laettner, who famously earned the spot reserved for a college player on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. Williamson's college coach, Mike Krzyzewski, coached Team USA from 2006 until 2017 when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took over the responsibility.
The 2019 World Cup is the first international tournament Popovich will coach for Team USA.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic shared that LeBron James had no intention of playing in the World Cup, which takes place from late-August until mid-September. James hasn't ruled out playing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In his lone season at Duke, Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks and was awarded ACC Player of the Year.
