This is not a world affairs or international basketball site, so this piece isn’t directly about the Washington Wizards or Mystics.
But as you may be aware, the Entertainment and Sports Arena is hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup American Qualifiers with the USA Basketball men’s national team hosting Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Americans defeated Puerto Rico on Thursday, 93-76 and are one step closer to earning a trip to the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
These same qualifiers are also happening in Europe, Africa and Asia. For Europe in particular, one notable western country’s government has refused to host at least one nation that cooperated with Russia in the current invasion of Ukraine.