The FIBA World Cup 2019 is set to tip off in just over a month. This year’s tournament will be held in China and will once again feature some of the best players in the world facing off against one another.
However, this year’s World Cup won’t be nearly as star-studded as many would have hoped, in large part due to a good number of withdrawals by some big-name NBA players on Team USA.
SBOBET is here to break down all the important news regarding the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
So many Team USA withdrawals
Team USA has been beset by several high-profile withdrawals from their World Cup roster. Big names like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard were already removed from the roster back in June.
That left the likes of Anthony Davis, James Harden, and clutch assassin Damian Lillard to lead the squad. However, those three MVP candidates have also pulled out in recent weeks, along with Bradley Beal, Tobias Harris, Kevin Love, CJ McCollum, Eric Gordon, and Paul Millsap.
That mass exodus of stars has left head coach Gregg Popovich with an understrength team. Their current roster features just two players with more than one All-Star appearance in Kemba Walker and Kyle Lowry, who recently underwent thumb surgery.
But despite Team USA’s notable lack of star power, they are still the overwhelming favourites according to the FIBA World Cup 2019 betting odds. That’s also in part due to their competition not being as fierce as in years past, especially with Spain’s stars ageing out.
The current Team USA roster features a strong Boston Celtics contingent led by Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, as well as rising stars Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kuzma. The likes of Julius Randle, Thaddeus Young, Montrezl Harrell, and Mason Plumlee have also been included this past week.
And in Popovich, they have one of the greatest coaches of all-time ready to steer one of the least imposing US teams in recent memory to victory.
Ben Simmons begs out of Boomers
The American stars aren’t the only ones who’ve made FIBA World Cup 2019 news by deciding against playing. Even Australian ace Ben Simmons has begged out of participating in the tournament.
The Philadelphia 76ers point guard, who just signed a massive five-year, $170 million contract extension, says he wants to focus on preparing for the new NBA season. Although, he still plans to play in the team’s warm-up games, as well as represent Australia in next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.
Simmons’ departure is obviously a huge blow for the Boomers, who are in Group H along with Canada, Lithuania, and Senegal.
Although the Bommer still have a number of NBA-calibre players — Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Jonah Bolden — they are an ageing team for the most part. Simmons was their one true young star who potentially could’ve carried them into championship contention.
Despite his continued lack of shooting ability, Simmons is still a terrific player thanks to his elite athleticism and brilliant passing, which the Aussies could’ve done with in the tournament.
Without Simmons, the Aussies won’t be a sure thing to get out of Group H. And even if they do make it to the second round, it would be a tough ask for them to progress to the quarter-finals and beyond.
Greek Freak getting ready
While a good number of NBA stars have backed out of the World Cup, perhaps the brightest one of them all — reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo — is ready to get to work and lead Greece in the tournament.
The Greek national team, which features Giannis and brothers Thanasis and Kostas, as well as veterans Georgios Printezis, Nick Calathes, Ioannis Bourousis, Kostas Sloukas, and Kostas Papanikolaou have already begun training camp ahead of the World Cup.
The Greek Freak is coming off a brilliant season with the Milwaukee Bucks. He averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and shot 58 per cent from the field to claim his first-career MVP award. He came up with some outstanding postseason performances, but the Bucks fell to eventual champion Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals.
Antetokounmpo will be tasked with delivering more dominant numbers for a Greek team that will be looking to return to the heights of 2006, when they claimed silver in the World Cup.
The Greeks are in a relatively easy Group F along with New Zealand, Brazil, and Montenegro. With the Greek Freak on their side, they should strongly fancy their chances of moving on to the next round — and possibly even further.
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