2019 United States FIBA Basketball World Cup team
[5][6] The Americans lost to France in the quarterfinals, ending their 58-game winning streak in FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and Olympic competition.
They finished the World Cup as one of the top two countries in the Americas, directly qualifying them for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
[10] The US was in the Americas group of 16 teams battling for 12 spots in the second round of the qualifying stage and finally for seven World Cup berths.
The United States had not played in the FIBA Americas tournament since 2007; they had been exempt from qualifying, having won every prior Olympics and world championships.
[12] Van Gundy and his squads were tasked with qualifying the US for the World Cup, when the U.S. would switch to a team of NBA players coached by Gregg Popovich.
[14] The five-time NBA champion Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs took over the national team from Mike Krzyzewski, who won three Olympic gold medals and two World Cups for the US.
[24] Trey McKinney-Jones and Marcus Thornton joined the Americans after needing to withdraw in February on account of 10-day contracts they had signed with NBA teams.
[29][30] For the second window, the United States again relied exclusively on G-Leaguers, using nine current players and three free agents with previous NBA experience.
In the past, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo had mandated that players attended camps or risk disqualification; however, rules were relaxed in recent years.
[16][34] In June 2019, a group of 20 players were initially invited to training camp to be held in Las Vegas in early August.
[35] A number of players withdrew leading up to camp, but replacements were named, leaving 15 candidates to vie for 12 spots on the World Cup roster.
Only four of the remaining players had been NBA All-Stars: Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, and Kemba Walker.
[7][38][39] Lowry withdrew after his thumb had not recovered from surgery a month earlier to repair a torn tendon he suffered in the 2019 NBA playoffs during the Toronto Raptors' championship run.
[44] A factor cited by Colangelo was FIBA moving the World Cup and the Olympics to back-to-back years, and its conflicts with the NBA schedule.
[46] The five career All-Star appearances of Lopez, Middleton, and Walker was the lowest ever, roughly half the total of past World Cup squads.
The loss ended a 78-game winning streak in major international tournaments and exhibitions with an NBA roster, which dated back to the 2006 FIBA World Championship team.
[63][64] Donovan Mitchell scored a team-high 16 points and led all Americans with 25 minutes played as the US won 88–67 over the Czech Republic.
[65] Middleton made two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime to put the US ahead 93–92, and they hung on to win after Turkey's Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
[68] The Turks were ahead 92–91 with under 20 seconds remaining, but Cedi Osman and Doğuş Balbay missed four straight free throws to keep the Americans in the game.
However, US-born Scottie Wilbekin, who was naturalized in Turkey a year before, led a 12–0 run, and the contest remained close for the rest of the game.
[69] Tatum sprained his left ankle while making the pass to a driving Middleton which led to the game-winning free throws.
[77] The NBA's reigning most valuable player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Greeks, but his plus-minus was -17 when he was in the game.
[77][78] Coach Popovich went to a small lineup at times, enabling the United States to switch effectively on pick and rolls by Antetokounmpo.
[80] Bogdan Bogdanović scored 28 points to lead Serbia to a 94–89 win over the United States, who were assured of their worst major tournament finish ever, surpassing their sixth-place showing in the 2002 World Championship.
