Report: Kyle Kuzma Ruled Out World Cup for Team USA After Suffering Ankle Injury

Kyle Kuzma won’t play with Team USA for the World Cup. The Lakers forward was ruled out for the tournament.

The 12-man USA Men’s World Cup Team roster was finalized Saturday after it was confirmed that Kuzma’s left ankle injury would stop him from participating in the upcoming contest.  

USA Basketball announces that Kyle Kuzma's ankle injury will rule him out of the @FIBAWC and the roster is now set

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 24, 2019

So, who is playing?

“The official 2019 USA World Cup Team includes 2016 Olympic gold medalist Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); 2014 World Cup gold medalist Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets), Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).”

? 2019 USA Men’s World Cup Team roster announced#FIBAWC x #USAGotGamehttps://t.co/MjsW7mlvaT

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 24, 2019

Who is coaching?

“The USA Basketball World Cup Team coaching staff features USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, and USA assistant coaches and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright.”

Team USA will face a lot of obstacles on their way to the big win. They have a bunch of great players to defeat, and Spain is considered a strong opponent. The same applies to Serbia.

“But the biggest threats to Team USA remain Spain and Serbia. With Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Willy Hernangomez, Spain is the second-ranked team in the world after the Americans. The good news, though, is that they already dispatched of the Spaniards in an exhibition one week ago.

“Serbia represents a relatively new threat with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic leading the way. They’ll have plenty of size with fellow NBA-ers Boban Marjanovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica rounding out the major contributors.

“One long-shot team to look out for is Greece, which is led by the best player in the tournament: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much depth behind him. Former lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis and a few other late draft picks are on the roster, but they won’t be likely to medal.”

Too bad that Kuzma won’t be able to play. But this gives him enough time to get ready for the upcoming season.