Before you consider this next piece of USA Basketball news, consider something that happened over the summer that stayed off most people’s radars.
There was a tournament, featuring only teams from the Western hemisphere, and the American men didn’t win it.
OK, now you’re ready to approach the topic with appropriate fear: The U.S. will host Nicaragua in suburban Atlanta on Dec. 1 in the Americans’ first “home” game as part of a 2 ½ year tournament to decide who qualifies for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
The point is, qualifying, though this may be hard to believe, is not guaranteed for the U.S.
Of course, the American men’s team won the last five Olympic gold medals, and by the time the 2028 Olympics roll around in Los Angeles, the U.S. team will be in the tournament, regardless of what happens between now and the Qatar World Cup.
The Americans could fail to qualify, or, as was the case at the previous FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, finish fourth — and still be in the Olympic tournament as the host country. Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat is expected to be named the next head coach of the men’s national team, and the assignment is for the World Cup and Olympics — there is no “maybe” on the World Cup part.
There is way, way too much pride on the line for the Americans to even entertain the idea of failing to qualify for Qatar, which would be a huge embarrassment. Program CEO Jim Tooley and general manager Sean Ford are going to do everything in their power to prevent failure.
It’s just, as you’ve heard, the rest of the world is getting better, even on this side of it, and at the FIBA AmeriCup last summer, the U.S. sent a collection of G League players and finished third. The Americans will again send G League players to represent the country for virtually all of the World Cup qualifiers — unless the losses pile up and it looks like they might not qualify for Qatar. If the games reach “win or go home” status, Ford could use NBA players on two-way contracts to fill out the roster.
Brazil won the AmeriCup by beating the Americans in the semifinals and Argentina in the finals. The U.S. beat Canada in the bronze medal game. The Americans are 19-5 in World Cup qualifiers and have won their groups (consisting of teams from the Americas) in the last two World Cup qualifiers.
Spoelstra will not coach in the World Cup qualifiers, as is customary. Stephen Silas coached the U.S. at the AmeriCup, and it has not yet been announced who will coach the team in the qualifiers. Jim Boylen, now an assistant with the Indiana Pacers, guided the Americans to qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
Should the U.S. qualify this time, its World Cup roster is expected to consist of rising NBA stars, and the Olympic team would be a mix of established, veteran superstars and perhaps a few of the best young players who participate in the World Cup.
The U.S. men’s first two World Cup qualifying games are both against Nicaragua. The first is a road game at Nicaragua (where the AmeriCup was held) on Nov. 28. The Americans will play two home games (sites to be determined) against the Dominican Republic and Mexico in late February and early March, and road games against the same two countries in July. Qualifying windows stretch until March 2027.
The Americans’ first game against Nicaragua will be in College Park, Georgia, where the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and NBA G League’s College Park Skyhawks play. A training camp preceding the first qualifying window will be held in Miami. The Heat have home games that week, so it’s safe to assume Spoelstra will at least poke his head in to visit with U.S. staff and deliver words of encouragement to the aspiring NBA players tasked with helping their country qualify for the World Cup.