With Anthony Davis now officially a Los Angeles Laker, the former Kentucky Wildcat will apparently get a bit more serious about his club at the cost of representing his country. Davis will reportedly skip out on playing for Team USA this summer in the FIBA Basketball World Cup as he focuses on making a championship run with the Lakers, per Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.
Davis will not participate in Team USA’s training camp that kicks off on Aug. 5th in Las Vegas, though he will still be present at practices. The FIBA World Cup begins on Aug. 31st in China, and the tournament acts as a qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Without Davis, there are now 19 invitees to Team USA training camp. They include Bradley Beal, Kevin Love, Andre Drummond, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker and others. When training camp breaks, head coach Gregg Popovich and his staff will whittle the roster down to a final grouping of 12, and that team will head to China for the FIBA World Cup. Popovich’s staff includes Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright.
Davis previously won a gold medal with Team USA during the 2012 Olympics in London. According to Haynes, Davis does still plan to play in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Davis will also be spending part of his summer filming scenes for Space Jam 2 alongside his new teammate, LeBron James.
