As recently as a year ago, Paolo Banchero talked about playing for Italy this summer at the World Cup (his mother holds Italian citizenship and Banchero has an Italian passport).
But in a coup, the NBA Rookie of the Year reportedly has changed his mind and will now represent the USA this summer, a story broken by Shams Charania and Joe Varden of The Athletic.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero – the NBA’s Rookie of the Year – has committed to play for Team USA’s national team at the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines this summer, sources tell me and @joevardon.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2023
As a big who can handle the ball and create his own shot, Banchero’s game should fit well in the international style of play, although coach Steve Kerr will hope he shoots better than 29.8% from 3 (as he did last season for Orlando). Banchero knows how to get downhill and finish, especially in transition, and Kerr wants his team to run a lot in this tournament.
We now know all but one of the 12-man roster expected to represent the USA this summer. Here is the roster as we know it:
Paolo Banchero
Mikal Bridges
Jalen Brunson
Anthony Edwards
Tyrese Haliburton
Brandon Ingram
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Cam Johnson
Walker Kessler
Bobby Portis
Austin Reaves
The roster almost feels like a who’s who of rising stars in the NBA, but it lacks international experience — not one of those players has ever suited up in a World Cup or Olympics before.
The World Cup tips off in late August in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, and is the primary qualifier for the Paris Olympics. A total of 32 teams from around the globe will descend on those countries — Team USA will play all its games in Manilla — and begin play in the group stage, where the teams are divided into eight groups of four. The top two teams in each group advance to the 16-team, tournament-style knockout round. The USA is in Group C with Greece (likely led by Giannis Antetokounmpo), New Zealand and Jordan.
The USA will conduct a training camp in Las Vegas in August, after which they will play Puerto Rico in an exhibition before heading to Abu Dhabi and, eventually, the World Cup.
