Fans of the OKC Thunder who are hungry to watch competitive basketball and get a glimpse of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prior to training camp will have to wait. The newly acquired point guard joined the growing list of NBA players to withdraw from playing for their countries at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Copious NBA superstars had already made the decision to not participate as part of the American team for this years FIBA World Cup. Part of the issue is next summer the Japan Olympics will run meaning the elite stars would have to give up back to back summers which is asking a lot especially in this age of load management.