Tyrese Maxey
Team USA in the FIBA World Cup featured a roster flush with young talent and led by 22-year-old Anthony Edwards. Edwards was the number one overall draft pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He made his first All-Star team this past year and is looking like he will be taking over the league in the next couple of years. It appears that the US team was looking to get the next generation some international competition experience as the former Olympic stars are abruptly aging.
LeBron James (38), Steph Curry (35), and Kevin Durant (34) would likely be playing in their final Olympics in 2024 if they decide to play for Team USA so the development of young players is extremely necessary. The roster from this FIBA World Cup team is clearly not ready, but this was a good opportunity for them to get ready.
Twenty picks after Edwards in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Sixers drafted Maxey.
Maxey has improved year over year in Philadelphia and is on the verge of becoming an NBA All-Star. He will likely be the second-best player on the Sixers roster in 2023-24 and might have been this past season as well. It makes logical sense then, that with Team USA looking to get younger, they give Maxey a phone call.
Edwards and Maxey running the backcourt for future US teams is salivating and would be impossible to defend for other international teams. The two teams that most recently beat us, Germany and Canada, had Dennis Schroeder and Franz Wagner, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks, respectively running their backcourt. Maxey and Edwards are arguably the best duo of that bunch and would be a cornerstone of a young Team USA to build around.