A few players on the Sacramento Kings were just invited to join Team USA’s select team and training camp rosters for this coming August.
The Olympics are not going on this summer, but Team USA’s basketball team will still be in action as the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will happen at the end of this August.
With Team USA dominating literally every tournament they compete in, it is a tremendous honor for any player who gets an invite to one of their rosters. In the last couple of days, that is what happened to two players from the Sacramento Kings.
Just a few days ago, Marvin Bagley III was invited to Team USA’s select team which is the team that trains with the actual Team USA. And just recently, Harrison Barnes was invited to the training camp roster for the actual Team USA.
For Bagley and Barnes, both had solid seasons this year and played a significant part in the Kings’ surprising season.
In Bagley’s rookie campaign, he averaged around 15 points and eight rebounds while he made over 50% of his shots from the floor. As for Barnes, in the 28 games he appeared with the purple and white, he averaged around 14 points and five rebounds a game while he made around 46% of his shots from the floor and 41% from beyond the arc.
Final Thoughts
The invites that Bagley and Barnes earned from Team USA are great opportunities for them. For Bagley, this is a stepping stone for him to eventually qualify for Team USA’s first-team roster for future tournaments. And for Barnes, this is the chance for him to represent Team USA again and to bring home another gold medal for his country. In 2016, Barnes was part of the Team USA roster that won gold in the summer Olympics.
Good luck this August, Marvin and Harrison! The Kings community knows you guys will represent the franchise well.