The OKC Thunder have sent their young duo to the Team USA practices as part of Team USA Select. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren each have the opportunity to practice against the main Team USA squad ahead of the FIBA World Cup later this month. The duo will also be able to travel to World Cup games and potentially take the place of a current squad member if they need to bow out due to injury or personal reasons.
Team USA got their training camp underway this week, and that included a Friday scrimmage between Team USA Select and the main squad. The hardwood was laced with NBA players as the select team is made up of primarily young NBA players. The two squads ran off two ten-minute scrimmages, and during that portion of practice, the Oklahoma City Thunder duo looked good.
OKC Thunder duo helps Team USA Select knock off Team USA in training camp scrimmage.
The Oklahoma City Thunder duo were able to get some valuable experience against some of the best players the United States has to offer ahead of their 2023 FIBA World Cup tour. The two played with other young NBA players on Team Select as practice players to scrimmage against Steve Kerr’s main squad. Team Select were able to give the main squad all they could handle.
Really like this defensive play from Jalen Williams using his length to disrupt Brandon Ingram. Stayed engaged in the play off the miss funneled the action inside after not biting on the fake, I imagine there might be a center in OKC who can rotate over and swat that in help. pic.twitter.com/Z2qJzLvAPr
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) August 5, 2023
The 🇺🇸 #USABMNT Select Team got after it in today’s joint scrimmage 👇 pic.twitter.com/9Sx71yYktA
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 4, 2023
Another day at the office 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/naZMJK0l7d
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 5, 2023
The OKC Thunder young duo will be a formidable duo as the regular season rolls in October, and as each player before them has stated, working out against Team USA is a great tool for their young careers. The Thunder are well represented at the FIBA world cup, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Josh Giddey, and Jack White all participating in the event.