USA Basketball Roster Finalized for FIBA World Cup After Kyle Kuzma Ruled Out
USA Basketball announced Saturday morning that Kyle Kuzma's left ankle injury will rule him out of the 2019 FIBA World Cup which set the team's 12-man roster for the tournament.
Kuzma sat out the team's exhibition game against Australia–where Team USA suffered its first loss in nearly 13 years, snapping a 78-game win streak–due to the injury. Team USA will be the favorites at the FIBA World Cup in China, sporting the tournament’s top roster by a sizable margin despite a slate of er s and Kuzma's injury.
The finalized roster includes the following players:
• Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings)
• Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)
• Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets)
• Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)
• Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets)
• Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics)
• Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
• Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers)
• Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics)
• Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
The 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China begins on Aug. 31. Team USA is the two-time defending World Cup champion and FIBA’s No. 1 world ranked team. The group will play its first-round games in Shanghai. The USA will play Czech Republic on Sept. 1, Turkey on Sept. 3 and Japan on Sept. 5.
The team will be led by USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich as well as a trio of assistant coaches in Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova's head coach, Jay Wright.
