The Sacramento Kings will have another member of their team vying for a spot on the USA Basketball roster. Rudy Gay has officially been added to the pool of players competing for a chance to represent America at the FIBA World Cup in Spain later this month.
“I am extremely excited to once again be part of Team USA and its rich tradition,” Gay said in a statement issued by the Sacramento Kings. “I can’t wait to join my teammates in Chicago and work hard to make certain the USA takes home the gold in Spain.”
Gay was added to the Team USA pool following a debilitating leg injury to All-Star Paul George and the roster withdrawal of reigning MVP Kevin Durant. The Sacramento Kings forward has been a part of the USA Basketball program before, previously competing on the last World Cup roster in 2010. He also was a finalist for the 2012 London Olympics roster.
“I received a call last night indicating that Rudy was available to join the National Team if Coack K and I felt he could help,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a prepared statement. “We both felt he would be a valuable addition because of his outstanding skills and the fact that he so familiar with USA Basketball and our national team program. Rudy has been an integral member of USA Basketball since 2005 and was a tremendous contributor to our 2010 USA World Championship Team. He has a lot of equity in the USA Basketball National Team.”
USA Basketball is currently on a two-week hiatus following a successful mini-camp in Las Vegas last week. Gay along with Sacramento Kings teammate DeMarcus Cousins, who is also competing for a spot on the World Cup roster, will convene next Thursday, Aug. 14 in Chicago for another USA Basketball mini-camp.
With the addition of Gay, USA Basketball’s roster currently stands at 16. The finalists are listed below:
- DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
- Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
- Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
- Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
- Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets
- Rudy Gay, Sacramento Kings
- James Harden, Houston Rockets
- Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz
- Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks
- Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
- Chandler Parsons, Dallas Mavericks
- Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets
- Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
- Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
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