Tacko Fall is 7-foot-7 and currently on an NBA roster. So, surely he's one of the 16 best basketball players from his native Senegal, no?
It appeared that way -- until Fall, who was on Senegal's preliminary 24-man roster for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, didn't crack the nation's 16-man squad announced Tuesday.
So, was the 2019 NBA Summer League sensation a victim of roster cuts? Not exactly. According to The Athletic's Jared Weiss, Fall wasn't intending to play for Senegal anyway, instead focusing on trying to make the Boston Celtics' 15-man NBA roster.
RealGM's Keith Smith added further clarification Thursday, noting Fall and Team Senegal came to a mutual agreement that he wouldn't play.
Watching Fall compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup would have been quality entertainment, especially if Senegal played a Team USA roster that currently features four of his Celtics teammates in Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
But Celtics fans surely will accept the rookie's rationale that he'd rather be in the United States trying to improve his chances of cracking Boston's Opening Night roster.
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