Myles Turner will rep the Indiana Pacers and his nation overseas for the duration of the 2019 FIBA World Cup after officially making the final cut.
Indiana Pacers fans, rejoice! After months of keeping up with Myles Turner‘s odds to make Team USA’s final 12-man roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup, we finally have confirmation that the 6-foot-11 center will keep honing his basketball skills against some of the best players in the world leading up to Pacers’ training camp next month.
Up until this morning, the roster stood at 13 players, meaning one more had to be sent home before we officially knew whether or not Myles Turner would make the cut. A Kyle Kuzma injury is what finally got the squad down to 12.
USA Basketball announces that Kyle Kuzma's ankle injury will rule him out of the @FIBAWC and the roster is now set
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 24, 2019
For Turner, he has a couple of other centers on the team that he’ll be competing with for playing time in Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee. However, with how recent scrimmages have been shaking out, it seems like Myles is the front-runner to be the starter, especially after a friendly content against Australia in which he put up 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Turner continuing his summer with Team USA will ultimately benefit the Indiana Pacers as well. He’s matching up against stiffer competition than the usual players he’d run an open gym with, especially when factoring in overall effort given (looking at you, Devin Booker). Surely, this time spent with his national team under the tutelage of a legendary coach like Gregg Popovich will mold Turner into an even bigger force in the upcoming NBA season.
Regardless of whether or not Team USA ultimately ends up winning the FIBA World Cup, Indiana Pacers’ center Myles Turner has a ton to gain by spending the rest of his summer playing internationally. It will be fun to continue seeing Turner in action with the national squad as the World Cup kicks off in early September.