Energy bigs have a role in international basketball, especially with the uptempo and athletic style Team USA employs. The Americans try to overwhelm opponents with talent and athleticism, and they do it at a level only a couple of nations in the world could hope to counter.
Bam Adebayo fits right in with that, which is why the Miami Heat big man received an invite to Team USA training camp, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has accepted an invitation to Team USA training camp for the FIBA World Cup tournament in China, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 27, 2019
A lot of big men have declined to play for Team USA this summer including Anthony Davis, Paul Millsap, Kevin Love, and Montrezl Harrell. That’s not to mention other stars such as James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Bradley Beal bowing out. The wide-open coming NBA season and players preferring to target the 2020 Olympics (and not play for Team USA in consecutive summers) has led to the rash of players bowing out.
Among the big men expected to be in training camp for USA Basketball and compete for a job are Andre Drummond, Julius Randle, Brook Lopez, P.J. Tucker, and Myles Turner.
Adebayo could end up going against Heat teammate Kelly Olynyk — who is playing for Canada — at the World Cup in China.
USA Basketball is scheduled to begin its pre-World Cup camp in Las Vegas Aug. 5, with an intrasquad exhibition game at the T-Mobile Arena on Aug. 9. Then the team heads to Southern California for more training followed by an exhibition against Spain on Aug. 16 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Then the team heads overseas for the World Cup, which begins in China on Aug. 31.