With just one week until the FIBA World Cup gets underway in Spain, we now know the 12 members who will compete for the United States team.
Prior to the roster being finalized, additional cuts needed to be made from the squad that had been participating in recent exhibition games. After the final four cuts, this is who will be wearing red, white, & blue in the upcoming competition.
USA Basketball World Cup Roster announced: Rose, Curry, Irving, Thompson, DeRozan, Harden, Faried, Cousins, Davis, Gay, Drummond, Plumlee.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 23, 2014
There’s one notable exception: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was among the last group to be removed, along with Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward, and Kyle Korver.
Late last night, Lillard said there were no hard feelings and he wished Team USA the best. On Saturday, the NBA’s 2013 Rookie of the Year posted the above photo on his Instagram account with the following caption:
“This is team USA letting me go. My head up, spirits up, and I’m going back to work. #TeamAdidas #JustGetBetter #WoodOnTheFire”
Lillard is just 24 years old, so in no way will this be our final opportunity to see him in a USA Basketball uniform. However, it means the next time we’ll get to see one of the NBA’s brightest young stars in competitive action will be the preseason, which seems so far away.
Photo: Instagram/damianlillard
