Harden and Davis top US World Cup squad

James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pélicans, Kemba Walker, future independent agent, and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers are the stars of the provisional formation of the American team published Monday for the World Cup of FIBA ​​this summer.

The great Gregg Popovich of San Antonio Spurs will make his debut as head coach of the national team. With the general manager of the American team, Jerry Colangelo, he followed the same formula as the previous teams, as they completed their alignment with shooting and large men, essential for international football.

A total of 20 players were invited to the training camp, which will be held in Las Vegas in early August. Twelve players will be part of the final list, the tournament starting September 1 with games in the pool in Shanghai.

In addition to the star guards, Washington Wizards Bradley Beal, Blazers' CJ McCollum, Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton, Houston Rockets' Eric Gordon, Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors are on the list.

Major players in Davis include free agent Tobias Harris and Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Leading defense specialists Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers are also on the draft list.

"This group of players has been chosen for a variety of reasons," said Popovich. "Some are similar, but you will find who are already stars, others who have improved from year to year and others who are stars in the making. they certainly deserve the honor of having the opportunity to do some testing for the team. "

In addition, Popovich added six new players who were not previously on the national team. They are a mix of old and young, specialists and stars. Current free player Brook Lopez was invited after his spectacular season with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Los Angeles Lakers, promising striker Kyle Kuzma, was also chosen. Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, the young Boston Celtics wing, Jayson Tatum, veteran defenseman P.J. Tucker of the Houston Rockets and Paul Millsap, free agent, will also be taken into account.

"It was important in the selection to have young players, older players, players who will become stars in time," said Popovich. "I think it was important for the mix."

"We spent a lot of time this year looking at the lineup for a variety of reasons, selecting the players we chose," added Team USA executive director Jerry Colangelo. "It's a whole group of people who have accomplished a lot in their academic careers and, more importantly, in their NBA careers, everyone has real references, and we're excited about the mix of talent."

A group of other young players, including the rookie Zion Williamson is expected to participate in a USA Select team training camp to be announced later.