USA Men's National Basketball Team

Team USA is all set to show their dominance in the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Warriors and USA head coach Steve Kerr have revealed the 12-men roster which includes new faces Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, along with 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year, Paolo Benchero.

The roster mostly includes young players, so Kerr will look forward to channelizing the youngsters' zeal and energy into lifting another trophy.

The FIBA World Cup will be held from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. This is the second straight year when the tournament is taking place in an Asian country, the first being China in 2019.

The USA is placed in group C alongside New Zealand, Greece and Jordan. The team should find it relatively easy to go past the group stages since New Zealand and Jordan are new teams with less experience at this stage.

History

The 2023 World Cup will be the 19th flagship event for FIBA, and Team USA has a very rich basketball history compared to other nations. The team has played in every FIBA competition, starting from 1950 till date.

As of now, the USA has showcased its global dominance by lifting the FIBA trophy five times (1954, 1986,1994, 2010,2014) highest by any nation. The key reason for the USA being a powerful team is because their roster includes all the NBA players. Additionally, the team has equally dominated in the Olympic games and won the gold medal 16 out of 19 times. 

Team USA’s line-up is always interesting and strong, and the most decorated team was observed in 1992, which is known as the ‘Dream Team.’ That team included 14 Hall-of-Famers (11 players and 3 coaches) highlighting the list with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Charles Barkley. The team won the gold medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Team USA is currently ranked second in the FIBA standings, as in the 2019 edition, the team faced an early defeat in the quarterfinals against France.

Legends in Team USA's history

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Bryant spent his entire career playing for the LA Lakers and was an 18x All-Star and a five time NBA champion. Additionally, he won the gold medal with Team USA in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

LeBron James

LeBron James, also named King James, is often debated along with Michael Jordan in the greatest of all time debate. Last season, he became the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, surpassing the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. LBJ has 19 All-Star selections and four NBA championships.

Additionally, he was on the USA squad when the team won gold medals at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics. 

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson was picked first overall by the LA Lakers in the 1979 NBA draft. He has been an NBA-All star 12 times and an NBA champion five times.

He was also part of the vigorous 1992 Dream Team, who won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Larry Bird

Larry Bird was the sixth overall pick for the Boston Celtics in the 1978 NBA draft. He was part of the 1992 Dream Team and won three championships in entire career. He has been an NBA All-Star 12 times and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Team USA’s Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Honors in Olympics and FIBA for the USA