BOSTON — For as long as Kemba Walker has been playing basketball, the specter of criticism and doubt has always been nearby.
So the fact that Team USA is not an overwhelming favorite to emerge with a gold medal in World Cup play which begins next week, has the Boston Celtics guard in a familiar place right now.
“A lot of us have grown up with doubt coming into our careers,” Walker said. “It’s nothing new to us. That’s unnecessary at this point. Nobody really cares what people think. At the end of the day, we want to win. We have one goal: we want to win. We want to win a gold medal.”
After a 3-1 record in exhibition play (the loss snapped a 78-game winning streak for the United States men’s national team), Team USA’s first game in pool play will be September 1 against the Czech Republic.
“It’s go-time now,” said Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. “We’ve built some chemistry, gotten to know each other really well. Everybody is ready for the first game.
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A big part of this team’s story has been the Celtics contingent which includes Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
But the bigger narrative has centered not so much on who is with Team USA, but who isn’t.
Dozens of A-list NBA players were invited to be on the team but declined an invite or pulled out after accepting an invitation, leading to Team USA having to lean on players that weren’t their first or second choice in some instances, to be on the team.
Players and coaches have been hearing about who isn’t with the team for weeks.
“All that I care about are the people on my team,” said Popovich, who added, “and it’s a wonderful group.”
Walker echoed similar sentiments when asked about the lengthy number of absences.
“At the end of the day, we want to be here,” he said. “We’re the ones who took on this opportunity to play for our country and represent our country. Who cares about the outside noise at this point? It really doesn’t matter.”
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