• Several star NBA players have dropped out of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the first qualifying event for the 2020 Olympics.
  • The US will be looking for replacements, as the roster now has only three players who made an All-Star team last season.
  • The US is still favored to win the tournament and qualify for the Olympics – but if stars continue to drop out, arguments to change the World Cup format could increase, as could the competition.
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Team USA is losing players for its 2019 FIBA World Cup squad at an alarming rate.

The international tournament, which helps determine the qualification for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, takes place from August 31 to September 15.

It’s not unusual for some top NBA players to skip the competition, but this year more and more players are dropping out, leaving the team to find replacements, many of whom will not be of the usual All-Star caliber.

In recent days, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum, Tobias Harris, Eric Gordon, and Zion Williamson have dropped out of the tournament. That leaves Kemba Walker, Kyle Lowry, and Khris Middleton as the only players on the roster who made an All-Star team last season.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, DeMar DeRozan was added to the Team USA roster recently but has also dropped out.

Lowry underwent thumb surgery this offseason, and though he is hopeful to remain in the tournament, he could be forced to miss it.

Here is the current roster, which will have new additions because of the dropouts:

  • Guards: Walker, Lowry, Donovan Mitchell
  • Wings: Middleton, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma, Harrison Barnes, P.J. Tucker
  • Bigs: Kevin Love, Andre Drummond, Myles Turner, Paul Millsap, Brook Lopez

Charania reported on Tuesday that Jaylen Brown and Julius Randle were added to the roster.

The Athletic's Joe Vardon reported on Monday that D'Angelo Russell, Mike Conley, Marcus Smart, and Thaddeus Young were being considered as replacements.

No other countries will feel bad for the US or its first-time national coach, Gregg Popovich, who is succeeding Mike Krzyzewski. The US still boasts the best roster and has advantages over some of the other top countries.

FIBA made a change to its schedule in recent years. Two-thirds of the qualifying tournaments for the World Cup take place during the NBA season. Unlike in soccer with FIFA, players on the national team don't get exemptions from their professional teams to play in international tournaments.

While the US qualified for the World Cup with a team led by non-NBA players, countries like Slovenia, the winner of EuroBasket in 2017, did not have stars in Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic for the World Cup qualifiers. It did not make the World Cup as a result and would have to qualify for the Olympics through four wild-card tournaments in 2020.

According to FIBA's site, seven teams from the World Cup qualify directly for the Olympics. There is little chance the US will not qualify for Tokyo.

However, it is worth asking about the future of NBA players' involvement in the World Cup, with so many top players dropping out. As The New York Times' Marc Stein noted in December, the new FIBA setup essentially means there are two US teams: the team that qualified without NBA stars, and the team with NBA stars who get to play in the World Cup.

If star players continue to drop out (or miss the tournament), arguments for amateur players to play in the tournaments will grow. It is also possible that down the road the US will encounter true challenges in the World Cup as other nations improve.