After Team USA’s underwhelming 4th-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Rudy Gay, a two-time gold medalist with the national team, has called for a return to tryouts as the selection process.
Expectations were high for Team USA, aiming to secure gold after their 7th-place finish in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. However, the team fell short of the podium, suffering losses to Lithuania, Germany, and Canada during the tournament.
Gay believes that one of the root causes of the team’s failure was the absence of tryouts. Instead of competing for spots on the roster, the final twelve players were selected without a rigorous selection process.
The 37-year-old forward took to X to express his concerns, stating, “Team USA really has to go back to tryouts.”
In a subsequent tweet, he emphasized, “Nothing to do with coaching or whether it’s a B or C team. These other countries have players that would die to be there, we have players that where chosen.”
