World Cup qualifying short on stars

As soccer mavens everywhere struggle to process the prospect of a World Cup that will kick off next summer without the United States, the Netherlands or even four-time champion Italy, something even more incomprehensible is happening in the arena of international basketball.

Thursday marked the start of qualifying play for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, with 80 countries from four geographical zones vying for 31 open slots in the tournament alongside the tournament’s host, China.

One Kristaps Porzingis-sized caveat: Players from the NBA, and an overwhelming majority from the EuroLeague — merely the two best basketball leagues on Earth — won’t be participating. FIBA decided to coopt a similar qualifying model to the one its FIFA counterparts employ to establish the field for soccer’s World Cup — except that basketball’s international body has no authority to compel NBA or EuroLeague teams to release players to join their national teams for qualifying. When the NBA season commenced, 108 international players from 42 countries and territories occupied roster spots in a league with only 510 available. But playing out their NBA dreams means they can’t help their countries now even if they want to.

For Cavaliers guard Jose Calderon, FIBA’s mistake was forging ahead with the switch without polling more of the participants: “Everything is impossible if you don’t talk to the players.”