SHANGHAI — There is no Anthony Davis or James Harden or Kevin Durant or LeBron James or Kyrie Irving or Kobe Bryant.
There are no signature shoe deals among this group. No current or former MVPs. No one on this iteration of Team USA is likely to lead the NBA in jersey sales.
But the 12 players and handful of coaches headed to Shanghai for the start of the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Sunday could, nevertheless, be champions. So enough about who they aren’t. Let’s talk about who they are.
An iconic coach or two. Probably one or 1 ½ household names. A couple NBA champions. And Celtics. Lots and lots of Celtics.
As Team USA gets set to defend its World Cup title, here are 30 items you either didn’t know, forgot, or haven’t really thought about for all 12 players and the top two coaches — at least one thing per man.
Have fun with these, keep an eye out for their stories as the Chinese-hosted tournament progresses, and, at the end, maybe…
