Thunder duo set to play in World Cup
Dennis Schroder will lead Germany, while Danilo Gallinari guides Italy
About a month before the beginning of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Danilo Gallinari felt a pain.
There was no way an emergency appendectomy was keeping him out for long. Gall in ari, acquired by the Thunder in the July trade of Paul George to the Clippers, had been waiting for his opportunity to represent Italy in the prestigious international tournament.
Gallinari had surgery Aug. 3. He was back with the Italian National Team in less than two weeks.
“It won't sound new to anyone, but every athlete dreams and will forever dream about playing for his or her country,” Gallinari told FIBA. com in June.
When the FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off on Saturday, the Thunder will have a balance of players eager to represent their countries and others with their focus on the upcoming NBA season.
The World Cup runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15 in China, coming close to the start
of pres ea son training camps. The Thunder's camp starts Oct. 1, but for teams who are playing preseason games internationally, camps can start as early as Sept. 27. That leaves limited time for players to de compress from the World Cup.
Many of the United States' top players opted out of playing in the World Cup in order to concentrate on the upcoming NBA season. New Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous- Alexander, a Canadian National Team member, announced in August that he was taking time to get ready for the upcoming season, to “ensure that I'm in the best position to take full advantage of my second professional year.”
Some never play f or their country at all.
Since entering the NBA in 2013, Steven Adams has never made himself available f or selection by New Zealand. In his 2018 book “My Life, My Fight,” Adams disputed Basketball New Zealand's national team selection methods .“Being in a national team is far too expensive for most kids — me included ,” Adams said in his book, citing Basketball New Zealand's pay approach to junior national teams. Adams rose to prominence in New Zealand via school ball and the tutelage of his youth coach and mentor, Kenny McFadden.
Adams last played for New Zealand a decade ago, in an Under-17 series against Australia.
“Steven's support of the Tall Blacks and his interest in playing for the program at some point down the line is unwavering ,” Adams' agent, Darren Matsubara, told Basketball New Zealand in June. “While he won't be participating this year with the National Team,
his plan is to evaluate the opportunity to play in the 2020 Olympics following the upcoming NBA season.”
New Zealand' s likelihood of playing in the Olympics are even slimmer without Adams. To make it to Tokyo in 2020, New Zealand has to qualify ahead of Australia at the World Cup or be one of the top four teams from 24 that will compete in Olympic qualifiers next summer.
The successful NBA careers carved out by Dennis Schroder, Adams and Gallinari aren't guarantees to international success. Though they are star players on the international level (or a would-be star in Adams' case with New Zealand), in the NBA the Thunder players have a combined zero AllStar appearances. While Schroder and Gallinari compliment their NBA teams, they are asked to carry their international squads.
Those additional responsibilities haven't discouraged Schroder or Gallinari from playing for their respective countries. Only injuries have kept Gallinari from playing for Italy since 2017's FIBA EuroBasket tournament. Germany didn't qualify for the FIBA World Cup in 2014, which gave Schroder incentive to make it to China this summer.
Schroder was anointed as the leader of the German National Team by none other than future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. This summer, Nowitzki said “everything is possible” for Germany if Schroder has a good tournament in China.
In June, Schroder made clear his aspirations for the national team.
“I cannot promise anything, like I always say, but my personal goal is to win a medal in the coming years,” he said.