Why is Devin Booker not playing for Team USA in FIBA World Cup 2023?

Devin Booker was not one of the names on the Team USA roster for the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup. The tournament takes place in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.

Devin Booker likely opted not to play in the FIBA World Cup given that he failed to help the Suns win a championship this past season. If Booker wanted, he could've been named on the Team USA roster, but he likely wants to keep his focus on the upcoming regular season. This is in line with a lot of other NBA stars like Jimmy Butler, Steph Curry, and also Devin Booker's teammate Kevin Durant.

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Who is on the Team USA roster for FIBA World Cup?

While the Team USA roster doesn't feature any of the high-profile NBA players, it does not mean that the roster is weak by any measure. The Team USA FIBA World Cup roster features young players who play with an edge to their game. Here is the full 12-man roster:

1. Jalen Brunson
2. Tyrese Haliburton
3. Anthony Edwards
4. Austin Reaves
5. Josh Hart
6. Brandon Ingram
7. Mikal Bridges
8. Cam Johnson
9. Jaren Jackson Jr.
10. Paolo Banchero
11. Walker Kessler
12. Bobby Portis

The most notable players on the roster are Brandon Ingram who is a scoring machine like Kevin Durant. There's also Jaren Jackson Jr. who recently won the Defensive Player of the Year award, Paolo Banchero who was the Rookie of the Year, and Austin Reaves who had a breakout season with the Lakers.

There is no doubt under the coaching of Steve Kerr, this roster could see a lot of success in the FIBA World Cup. This would also serve as a great opportunity for a lot of these young and inexperienced players to go out and get their hands dirty.

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How was Devin Booker in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

Men's Basketball Medal Ceremony: Day 15

Devin Booker was on the basketball team for the USA in the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. While Booker won the gold medal, he was not necessarily sensational at the time given that he was still relatively young.

Devin Booker averaged 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game on 42.2% shooting from the floor. Booker averaged these numbers while playing 20.9 minutes per game. While Booker's scoring wasn't impressive, there were other ways in which Booker impacted the game which don't necessarily show up in the box score.

In the quarterfinals against Spain, Devin Booker helped Team USA secure a 95-81 victory. Booker was a critical factor on the boards with his hustle and was even seen diving for loose balls. He had nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in this game while only having scored nine points on 4/13 shooting. Booker also ran the point at times during the game. He made crucial timely plans in clutch situations and was a +17 for the game, second only to Kevin Durant.

Booker's play earned him a lot of praise from Durant. Here is what Durant had to say:

“It just shows you how all-around D-Book is. Lot of people look at him because he’s such a pretty scorer, he can do things so effortless. But he is a savant. He wants to be an all-around basketball player. You seen it tonight, grabbing rebounds, going in mixing up with the bigs, switching, guarding out on the perimeter, making passes. Then he makes such timely shots for us.”

Durant continued:

“He’s 24 years old, I want to say, and we talked about this on the bus: He handles himself like a 35-, 36-year-old vet. That’s only going to bode well for him in Phoenix going forward."

Devin Booker has certainly lived up to the praise that Durant poured on him. In the recent playoffs, despite losing to the Nuggets, Booker was sensational all along. Team USA will definitely miss him in the upcoming FIBA World Cup.