USA Basketball is finalizing a training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup in China, and Houston Rockets guards James Harden and Eric Gordon will likely be on the minicamp roster.
The minicamp will be in August in Las Vegas ahead of the September tournament in China. The camp roster will be comprised of 18 players, and head coach Gregg Popovich will eventually whittle it down to a 12-man team.
In addition to Harden and Gordon planning to attend the camp with intentions to play in China, other players set to attend include Portland’s Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Washington’s Bradley Beal, Cleveland’s Kevin Love, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez, the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma, and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
It is no shocker that Harden is going for a spot on the team. The reigning MVP led the league in scoring this past year, while also posting career highs in a handful of other stats and breaking records left and right. It is fantastic to see Gordon, who is a veteran defender known for his leadership, making moves for the USA Basketball team, too.
The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup runs from August 31 to September 15. The best seven teams then qualify directly for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
