Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love has been the ninth player to drop out from playing for the United Stated 2019 FIBA World Cup China.
The news came just one day after Damian Lillard repportedly withdrew from the World Cup.
The basketball player said he informed U.S coach Gregg Popovich of his decion on Wednesday.
Love, who played in just 22 games last season because of a shoulder injury, averaged 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds in 2018-19.
Even with all the withdrawals, the USA team is loaded with enough talent to three-peat as gold medalists at the event. Kemba Walker, Kyle Lowry, Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Khris Middleton, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma, Harrison Barnes, Aaron Gordon, Thaddeus Young, P.J. Tucker, Julius Randle, Paul Millsap, Andre Drummond, Brook Lopez, and Myles Turner are among those invited.
During the previous two weeks, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum reportedly decided not to compete in the World Cup this year.
The motivations behind all the defections are, in general, a combination of three things. First, the NBA title chase feels wide open this season with as many as eight teams thinking they have a legit shot at it, and the majority of those dropping out are on those teams. The players are prioritizing club over country. Secondly, FIBA moved the World Cup from 2018 to 2019, meaning if a player is eyeing the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo they would be taking part in two straight summers of USA Basketball — likely after long playoff runs — to do both. Players are choosing to take the World Cup off. Third, this World Cup starts late, running Aug. 31 to Sept. 15, and runs right up against the start of training camps.
The five-time NBA All-Star missed a significant portion of last season due to surgery on his toe, seeing action in only 22 games during the 2018-19 campaign. He averaged 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game.
The US roster is expected to include guard Kyle Lowry of the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors after thumb surgery, Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker and Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton./ with reports from Bombo Bam Orpilla; edited by Bombo Sol Marquez.
