By Chris Harris Contributor
Updated 8/10/23 12:37pm ET
Following the conclusion of the NBA Summer League, the basketball calendar has been dry, which means men’s basketball has had a long and lengthy summer vacation. That ends very shortly however and we are here for all of it.
The USA Basketball Men’s National Team began its final preparations for the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup with a 117-74 win over Puerto Rico on Monday, Aug. 7, in the first of five exhibition games. Anthony Edwards led the way for Team USA with 15 points, while Jalen Brunson recorded a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds). Cam Johnson also scored 15 points off the bench.
| No. | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Age | Hometown |
| 8 | Paolo Banchero | Forward | 6-10 | 250 | 20 | Seattle, WA |
| 5 | Mikal Bridges | Forward | 6-6 | 209 | 26 | Philadelphia, PA |
| 11 | Jalen Brunson | Guard | 6-2 | 199 | 26 | New Brunswick, NJ |
| 10 | Anthony Edwards | Guard | 6-4 | 225 | 22 | Atlanta, GA |
| 4 | Tyrese Haliburton | Guard | 6-5 | 185 | 23 | Oshkosh, WI |
| 12 | Josh Hart | Guard | 6-5 | 215 | 28 | Silver Spring, MD |
| 7 | Brandon Ingram | Forward | 6-8 | 190 | 25 | Kinston, NC |
| 13 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Center | 6-11 | 242 | 23 | Plainfield, NJ |
| 6 | Cam Johnson | Forward | 6-8 | 210 | 27 | Moon Township, PA |
| 14 | Walker Kessler | Center | 7-0 | 245 | 22 | Atlanta, GA |
| 9 | Bobby Portis | Forward | 6-11 | 262 | 28 | Little Rock, AR |
| 15 | Austin Reaves | Guard | 6-5 | 206 | 25 | Newark, AR |
The game marks the end of Team USA’s traditional training camp in Las Vegas before heading overseas, where it will face Slovenia, Spain, Greece, and Germany in a span of eight days. The Slovenia and Spain games will be played in Malaga, Spain, while the latter two will be contested in Abu Dhabi.
- Monday, Aug. 7: USA 117, Puerto Rico 74
- Saturday, Aug. 12: Slovenia (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
- Sunday, Aug. 13: Spain (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
- Friday, Aug. 18: Greece (12 p.m. ET, FS1)
- Sunday, Aug. 20: Germany (12 p.m. ET, Fox)
Team USA will play the first of three World Cup group games in the Philippines against New Zealand on Aug. 26, followed by Greece (Aug. 28) and Jordan (Aug. 30). The squad is looking to bounce back from a seventh-place finish at the 2019 World Cup, its worst showing in 15 major tournaments since USA Basketball began incorporating NBA players for the 1992 Olympics. The squad enters the tournament with new leadership under Grant Hill. This is Hill’s first major international event as executive director and first-time national team coach.
Odds have not been released as of yet for the exhibition games. Luka Doncic can control the action and is an absolute problem for the U.S., but at the end of the day, the Americans have a deeper, more talented roster than the Slovenians.
Stay tuned for updates on all the FIBA World Cup basketball action, analysis, and odds.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
