(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
After Team USA failed to win a medal at this year’s FIBA World Cup, a number of NBA stars and superstars headed by LeBron James are reportedly ready to commit to playing in next year’s Summer Olympics.
Washington Wizards star Kyle Kuzma said on Twitter that such players will need to accept a much-reduced role that would include focusing on defense and being relegated to being a spot-up shooter on offense.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker responded with a simple: “I’ll do it.”
I’ll do it https://t.co/77PBGNEQ0W
— Book (@DevinBook) September 12, 2023
It’s a big claim by Booker, who is one of the game’s best one-on-one players and isn’t really known as someone who does well playing off the ball and scoring off passes.
Booker is one of the big-name stars who are reportedly at least seriously considering representing the United States in next year’s Olympics in Paris.
He already played for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics and helped it claim the gold medal, while Kuzma was going to be on the squad for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but was unable to play due to injury.
The rest of the world has caught up with the United States in basketball, and it cannot expect to win gold medals while fielding teams that are bereft of top players or sporting a casual attitude and expecting that a gold medal is inevitable.
Team USA also lacked size during this year’s FIBA World Cup, and it paid the price defensively and on the boards, making it another problem that needs to be addressed in the coming months.
The post Devin Booker Responds To Kyle Kuzma’s Challenge To NBA Stars appeared first on The Cold Wire.