USA TEAM FACTS

• Former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who recently led the USA men to the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 title, will coach the USA Basketball men’s national teams that will compete in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying games.
• Veteran USA Basketball coach Mo McHone and former Georgetown University head coach John Thompson III were named assistant coaches for the USA’s November 2017 and February 2018 FIBA World Cup Qualifying games. 
• Players selected to represent the USA in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying games are expected to primarily be from the NBA G League.

2017-19 FIBA AMERICAS WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

• The FIBA World Cup Qualifying games will be used to qualify 31 of the 32 nations that will compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. 
• China automatically qualified as the host nation of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
• 16 teams from the FIBA Americas zone are vying for one of seven qualifying berths to the 2019 World Cup.
• The remaining 24 teams will advance out of FIBA’s three other zones: five from Africa, seven from Asia and 12 from Europe

FIBA AMERICAS WORLD CUP QUALIFYING FIRST ROUND  

GROUP A            GROUP B        GROUP C           GROUP D
Argentina               Brazil                   Cuba                      Bahamas
Panama                 Chile                    Mexico                   Canada
Paraguay               Colombia             Puerto Rico            Dominican Republic
Uruguay                Venezuela             USA                       U.S. Virgin Islands

FIRST ROUND COMPETITION WINDOWS

• The USA began its journey to the 2019 World Cup on Nov. 23 against Puerto Rico in the first of six first-round qualifying games that will take place in three competition windows through July 2018.
  The USA defeated Puerto Rico 85-78, then three days later earned a 91-55 win over Mexico.
• The full FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying game schedule/results can be viewed at - FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying Schedule.

November 23-27, 2017

            Nov. 23, 2017 - USA 85, Puerto Rico 78 (@ University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL) 

            Nov. 26, 2017 - USA 91, vs Mexico 55 (@Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse, Greensboro, NC)

February 22-26, 2018

            Feb. 23, 2018 (7 pm PST) – USA vs. Cuba (@ Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz, CA) / Ticket Information

            Feb. 26, 2018 (7 pm PST) – USA vs. Puerto Rico (@ Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz, CA) / Ticket Information

June 28-July 2, 2018

            June 28, 2018 – USA vs. Mexico (@ Mexico City, Mexico)

            July 1, 2018 – USA vs. Cuba (@ Havana, Cuba)

SECOND ROUND COMPETITION WINDOWS

• After completion of the first round, the top three teams in each of the four first-round groups advance to the second round. The top three finishers from Group A and Group C will form Group E, while the top three finishers from Group B and Group D form Group F.

The three second-round windows of competition will take place:

             * September 13-17, 2018

             * November 29-December 3,2018

             * February 21-25, 2019

After completion of the Americas second-round games, seven teams will qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, including the top three finishing teams from second-round Group E and Group F, and the best fourth placed team between Group E and Group F.

FIBA WORLD CUP 2019

The USA, two-time defending FIBA World Cup of Basketball for Men champions, must qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup before attempting to earn a third-straight gold medal at the competition.

The FIBA World Cup for Men 2019 will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 15 in China.

32 national teams will participate in the FIBA World Cup 2019.

China automatically qualified as the host nation of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

The remaining 31 nations will qualify through their FIBA zone World Cup qualifying games. Each zone will qualify the following number of national teams:

             * Africa - 5 Teams

             * Americas – 7 Teams

             * Asia (which now includes Oceania) – 7 Teams

              * Europe – 12 Teams

The USA men have participated in 17 FIBA World Cups and have collected 12 medals - 5 gold medals (1954, 1986, 1994, 2010 and 2014), 3 silver medals (1950, 1959 and 1982) and 4 bronze medals (1974, 1990, 1998 and 2006). USA teams own an overall win-loss record of 123-27.

Results from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify seven teams directly for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Additionally, Olympic host, Japan, has automatically qualified, and the final four nations will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments that will be held in 2020 in advance of the Olympics.