Washington hasn’t had a player since 2006.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup continues today as the quarterfinal round begins. With no Washington Wizards players but the USA Basketball men’s national team still in the field, I have an open question. When will the Washington Wizards have a player back on Team USA for a World Cup or an Olympics?
In the immediate future, that’s just not going to happen. None of the players on the World Cup are on the Wizards, and none of the current American players on the Wizards are good enough to warrant serious consideration.
But in the near future, there will likely be some top draft picks coming to town. If they are American players, it’s possible that they may be in USA Basketball’s plans for the next FIBA World Cup in 2027 or the Olympics in 2028 which will be in Los Angeles.
It’s kind of crazy to think that just three years ago, Bradley Beal was named to the USA Basketball men’s national team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He would have played, and he would have probably won a Gold Medal. However, he was placed on health and safety protocols shortly before the games and had to miss them.
Because Beal couldn’t play on Team USA for the Olympics, Wizards fans have to go back to 2006 in the then-FIBA World Championships to find an active Wizards player on Team USA. Antawn Jamison was on the team that eventually won the bronze medal.
Do you see a Wizards player, even if he is probably not on the roster right now, wearing a Team USA jersey in the not-too-distant future? Let us know in the comments below.