Team USA will face Australia in an exhibition game at Marvel Stadium on Thursday, and around 50,000 spectators are expected to witness the encounter. Head coach Gregg Popovich had some kind words for the Boomers, saying that they are a strong team that could go all the way at the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China.
“Huge, huge threat,” Popovich said. “They are one of the teams that can win the whole thing, without a doubt. I’m not saying that because I’m here. It’s just a fact.” “They’ve been close for several years, and they are hungry. They are talented. They have the toughness and physicality to go with it. I think they are one of the top contenders without a doubt.”
US coach Gregg Popovich has declared Australia a genuine threat to Team USA in an upcoming Melbourne series — as well as the FIBA World Cup and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. https://t.co/vBcoi8CA48
— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) April 16, 2019
Patty Mills, who is playing under Popovich in San Antonio, is the biggest star on the Australian squad, and he led them to a bronze medal battle at the 2016 Olympics, but the Boomers fell short to Spain. Team USA is thin on superstars, with Kemba Walker, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton as the only All-Star players on the roster, combining for five NBA All-Star appearances comparing it to the Americans’ last Olympics squad which had 33.
However, Walker wasn’t too worried about the lack of superstars this time around, and he thinks that they will do anything to defend the title and win in for the third straight time.
“We don’t care — we want to be here and are putting in the time to be here and we definitely take that as motivation,” Walker said. “We have a bunch of guys who don’t mind being the underdogs. We are hungry and we are going to go out there to try and win a gold medal.
“I take pride in being a leader and guys looking to me and I’m here to set the tempo and bring my experience and energy,” he added.
"To be able to be coached by him, it's an honour. I'm happy to be here and looking forward to keep building our relationship."@LeighEllis chats with Kemba Walker about playing for coach Gregg Popovich #USABMNT 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JHhSQg9ler
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) August 21, 2019
Australia and the USA will play a couple of exhibition games this week, and the hosts will be looking for their first victory over the Americans since 1964. They lost the previous 25 encounters.
