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The roster Team USA sent to the FIBA World Cup left plenty to be desired, and while they still performed pretty well during the tournament, their run came to an end on Friday with a 113-111 loss to Germany in the semifinals—a defeat that appeared to garner a pretty quicky reaction from Trae Young.
Steve Kerr took a somewhat unconventional approach to assembling the squad that represented the Stars and Stripes at the tournament, as he essentially handpicked the guys he ended up coaching as opposed to holding open tryouts for guys who may have been interested in playing for their country.
While there were obviously plenty of talented players on the team, it was pretty hard to argue Kerr had selected the best of the best when it came to putting together the lineup, and last month, the Young made it pretty clear he would’ve been interested in playing for Team USA but was never given the opportunity.
The Atlanta Hawks guard has encountered more than a few bumps in the road since his breakout season a few years ago. With that said, he’s still an undeniably talented player, and it’s very hard not to wonder if the United States could’ve stuck around (and possibly won) the FIBA World Cup if he’d been the guy running the floor.
While Young wasn’t playing in the game against Germany, it sure seems like he was watching it based on the tweet he sent at the exact same time it ended, as it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t doing a little bit of trolling with the message he posted.
Another Day, Another Opportunity💯
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) September 8, 2023
It’s obviously worth noting Young posts that exact same message every single morning at some point, so while the timing might have simply been a coincidence, plenty of people couldn’t ignore it.
Tweeting this right after Team USA lost is ultimate pettiness 😭😭😭
— Earl (@xEarl_) September 8, 2023
This was waiting in the drafts for weeks https://t.co/kc2sNMr0LR
— NBA University (@NBA_University) September 8, 2023
Timing of this tweet after the USA loss is wild 😂😂😂😂😂
— Trevon (@TrevonVargo) September 8, 2023
This is elite hate oh my god https://t.co/5kKWw1nBFn
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) September 8, 2023
If it was intentional, I can’t really say I blame him.