United States Wiretap

Forward A.J. Dybantsa led Team USA to the title in the FIBA U19 World Cup over the weekend. Dybantsa was named MVP of the tournament, which the United States capped off with a 109-76 victory over Germany in the final.

Dybantsa is headed to BYU this fall. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 20 minutes per game for Team USA.

Louisville-bound guard Mikel Brown also had a strong tournament for the United States. Brown was the team's leader in scoring at 14.9 points and passing at 6.1 assists per game.

Dybantsa and Brown are part of a strong group at the top of the 2026 NBA Draft class. Those two are joined by Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Nate Ament (Tennessee) at the top of the earlier pre-draft rankings.

The United States was drawn into a group that includes the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua for the Americas portion of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying. Those three countries will be joined by a fourth team that is to be determined through pre-qualifying games.

2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers for the Americas will take place throughout the end of 2025 and through the summer of 2026. Because the early portion of the qualifiers will take place during the NBA season, it's unlikely NBA players will be a part of the Team USA roster for this round of qualifying.

In the past, Team USA has made up a roster of mostly players who play in the G League. Occasionally, a player who plays overseas or is an NBA free agent will join the team for these qualifiers.

Golden State Warriors and former Team USA coach Steve Kerr was effusive in his praise for Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero. Kerr said he'd "be surprised" if Banchero wasn't a part of Team USA's roster for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Kerr said Banchero was close to making Team USA for this past summer's Olympics in Paris.

"He was right in the mix [until] the last second for Paris," Kerr said. "That’s how strongly we felt about him in the Philippines during the World Cup. He’s such a talented guy and versatile. … he was right in the mix and ultimately it just came down to roster construction, what we needed. We ended up deciding more on guard play than frontcourt."

During the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the Magic forward averaged 9.3 points on 57.5% shooting for the United States. Given the 2024 Olympics roster featured several older players, that should open room for younger players like Banchero to step in. Team USA will also have a new coach, as Kerr is stepping down from the position.

USA Basketball released the roster for their upcoming AmeriCup qualifying games. Team USA will feature several NBA veterans for matchups against Puerto Rico and the Bahamas on November 22 and November 25 in Washington D.C.

Longtime NBA forwards Robert Covington and Keita Bates-Diop will join the team. Rounding out an experienced frontcourt is veteran center Frank Kaminsky.

That trio will be joined by several players who are currently playing in the G League. That group includes Henry Ellenson, Dusty Hannahs, Nate Hinton, Jahmi’us Ramsey, Chasson Randle, Javonte Smart, David Stockton, Paul Watson and Malik Williams.

Team USA split games with Cuba in the earlier qualifying window. They'll play two more away games against Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in February. The top three teams in the group will advance to the AmeriCup tournament in August in Nicaragua.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum's Olympic experience was a different one, including not playing and missing every jump shot he took. Still, Tatum said the experience was a good, despite the challenges.

"I wasn’t moping around. I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world," Tatum said. "I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?"

Tatum also acknowledged he missed every jumper he took, but suggested that's part of not being in rhythm.

"I know I didn’t make a jump shot when I was with Team USA. I don’t know, law of averages," Tatum said. "It’s a weird rhythm thing being with Team USA; you never exactly know when you’re gonna get the ball. But that’s part of it. You sign up for that because I’ve done it before (at the Tokyo Games)."

Tatum says he hasn't lost confidence in his shot, and that he's not dealing with any kind of injury. After shooting poorly in the playoffs, the Celtics star said he's learned that sometimes things don't go as planned.

"I have two (gold medals) now, I have a championship, and everything doesn’t necessarily go the way you expect it to go, right?" Tatum said. "I’ve learned to be like, ‘OK, that’s a part of it.’ You move on, and I’m getting ready to enjoy the last little weeks I have before the season starts and get ready for another season."

Steve Kerr is expected to step down as the head coach of Team USA. Kerr has coached the team through the last cycle, which included the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kerr also assisted Gregg Popovich at the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

USA Basketball is expected to choose between Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and LA Clippers head coach Ty Lue to take over for Kerr. Both Spoelstra and Lue have served as assistant coaches for Team USA, including at this summer's Olympics.

The French word for "miracle" would have translated to "disaster" for the U.S. women's basketball team on Sunday.

But the Americans' eighth consecutive gold medal will be a memorable one because the virtually unbeatable global power won, literally, by inches.

The U.S. survived a serious and stunning test from France by a 67-66 margin, and only because Gabby Williams' heave at the buzzer that banked in, a possible shot for the ages, was taken with her foot on the 3-point line, denying the home team a chance at overtime.

Jayson Tatum admitted that he was disappointed about his role with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, Tatum said that won't impact any decisions about playing for the United States in the future.

"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision off emotions," Tatum said. "If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 -- it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So, I'm not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually."

While Tatum repeatedly refused to make his lack of playing time a situation, he did say the situation was humbling and one he'd learn from for the future.

"A lot of people text me and reached out and said 'Make sure this fuels you,' which I appreciate. There's a lot of people that care about me," Tatum said. "I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human.

"...Part of being in the moment, I've sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So, in the moment it is tough. You're not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It's definitely challenging and humbling at the same time."

FIBA named its All-Star Five for the Paris Olympics. It included four medalists, and all five players made it to the medal round.

The five players named are Stephen Curry and LeBron James of the United States, Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Dennis Schroder of Germany and Victor Wembanyama of France.

Curry and James both won gold medals with Team USA. Wembanyama took home silver for 
Olympics hosts France, while Jokic won the bronze with Serbia.

LeBron James was named the MVP of the Olympics Men's Basketball tournament. James had a triple-double in the United States semifinal victory over Serbia. In the gold medal game, James had 14 points and 10 assists.

James won his third gold medal and his fourth Olympic medal overall. Following the victory, the Los Angeles Lakers star said this was likely it for him with Team USA.

"I can't see myself playing in LA", James said, referring to the 2028 Summer Olympics which will be held in Los Angeles.