Listed along with other star finalists, Brandon Ingram is going to be heading to Team USA basketball camp with big implications for the summer.
The 2019-2020 season has brought a lot of positive things for Brandon Ingram and on Sunday night, a growing list of accolades picked up a special addition.
Joining a list of 44 other NBA standouts, Ingram has been invited to join Team USA’s camp this summer as a potential member of their roster for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
In the midst of his breakout season, Brandon Ingram is posting plenty good enough stats to warrant an invitation. Ranking 15th in the NBA in scoring, Ingram is averaging 24.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 40% from three on 6.3 attempts per game.
Other players included are superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard, so Ingram is with some incredible company heading into this year’s tryouts.
Already named to the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, Brandon Ingram’s breakout season is only augmented with the invitation to represent the United States on a global stage. It’s simply unbelievable to think that around this time last year, his NBA career seemed at risk.
List of 44 for @usabasketball pic.twitter.com/zYlTxtWl09
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 10, 2020
Potentially, Ingram could be one of the members of a roster looking to redeem the United States amongst international opponents.
The team finished seventh in basketball’s World Cup last summer and all indications show that America plans to mount a return to the crown with this go-around.
After many American players decided to skip last year’s global basketball opportunities, the team is ready to put together a run akin to that of the Redeem Team, who brought the United States the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal in Basketball. That team certainly redeemed the ill-fated squad led by Larry Brown in the 2004 Olympic Games, a team that earned Bronze honors.
The 2020 Summer Olympic games will take place in Tokyo, Japan beginning on July 24, which comes just six weeks after the presumptive end of the NBA Finals.
In all likelihood, with the New Orleans Pelicans won’t make it to the final round of this year’s postseason play, which should boost Ingram’s ability to get tuned up for USA Basketball work.
Potentially, this will give a player like Brandon Ingram additional time after the season to get himself in the best shape possible to get a chance to represent his home country with the world watching.
While the Pelicans still have plenty of their own season left to focus on, Ingram’s inclusion on the US Olympic roster should be very exciting news for the team in New Orleans.