USA Basketball fills World Cup roster with Josh Hart as last commit, source tells AP

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer

New York guard Josh Hart has given his commitment to USA Basketball to play in this summer’s World Cup, a person with knowledge of the decision said Sunday.

Hart is the 12th, and presumably final, person to commit to the team, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the roster has not been announced by USA Basketball. That announcement is expected at some point this month; the team begins training camp in Las Vegas in early August.

And the roster could still change, for a variety of reasons. There will be a select team chosen by USA Basketball for the World Cup squad to play and practice against in Las Vegas, and players from the select team could be elevated to the World Cup roster in case of injury or should a committed player bow out.

Hart joins his Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson on the list of committed players, along with Brooklyn teammates Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges, Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram, Utah’s Walker Kessler, Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis and Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.

The team will be coached by Golden State’s Steve Kerr, assisted by Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Tyronn Lue and Gonzaga’s Mark Few.

Of the 12 players, six — Ingram (24.7), Edwards (24.6), Brunson (24.0), Haliburton (20.7), Bridges (20.1) and Banchero (20.0) — averaged at least 20 points per game in the NBA last season.

The Americans will play five warm-up games before the World Cup: Aug. 7 against Puerto Rico in Las Vegas, Aug. 12 against Slovenia and Aug. 13 against Spain in Spain, then Aug. 18 against Greece and Aug. 20 against Germany at Abu Dhabi.

The World Cup runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. The Americans will be in Manila for the entirety of their stay in the tournament and have group stage games against New Zealand on Aug. 26, Greece on Aug. 28 and Jordan on Aug. 30.

The tournament is the primary qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S. will have to finish as the best or second-best team from the Americas Region at the World Cup to automatically qualify for Paris, where the Americans will seek a fifth consecutive Olympic title.

The top two World Cup finishers from Europe and the Americas, as well as one from Africa, Asia and Oceania, will earn berths into Paris 2024.

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