It is Team USA vs. Turkey's National Team on Tuesday for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Following their win over the Czech Republic 88-67 behind 16 points from Donovan Mitchell, Team USA will be going against Turkey, which defeated Japan 88-67.
The Turkey squad is led by Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, who tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds in their last game.
Other current NBA players on the team are Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Cedi Osman and Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz. It also features the Boston Celtic’s former 60th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, center Semih Erden. The 33-year-old big man played two seasons in the NBA, the first with the Celtics and the second with Cleveland, before playing in several leagues overseas, including the Turkish Basketball League.
Turkey guards Bugrahan Tuncer and Dogus Balby played last season alongside former NBA player Shane Larkin for Andolu Efes.
Balby, one of the team’s better perimeter defenders, also played college basketball alongside Laker guard Avery Bradley for the Texas Longhorns.
Team USA’s players and coaching staff admits that despite them having a roster of NBA players, other World Cup teams still have the advantage of experience over them.
Head coach Gregg Popovich pointed out that a most of the other teams have been playing together for a long time compared to them. He said “They've played together in many situations, and this is the first time these guys have played together. So, when we see that we're trusting each other, whether it's as Donovan said making an extra pass at the offensive end or playing the defense that we played tonight, it's encouraging."
After this game, they will be facing the Japanese national team next on Thursday for the First Group Stage.
Team USA is attempting to become the first team in history to achieve a three-time win at the World Cup after getting it in 2010 and 2014.
