When it comes to basketball’s World Cup, this is how it works back home for American players: Only in defeat are you remembered.
In a tournament of such modest standing in our hoops culture, compared to the Olympics, typically only by losing does the U.S. men’s national basketball team command the attention of the mainstream sports public.
The 12 players who agreed to represent the United States at the 2019 FIBA World Cup knew the deal, deep down, when they signed up to join a roster that had been shunned by some 40 top pros — including all the biggest American stars.