Cade Cunningham plays Luka Doncic role, impresses in Team USA scrimmages - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — On the second day of Team USA's training camp, the 12-man roster headed to the FIBA World Cup later this month scrimmaged against the Select Team — a group of young players, plus a couple of veterans, brought in to help the senior group prepare for the competition.

Led by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, it was the Select Team that won both scrimmages that were open to the media Friday afternoon, and looked impressive in doing so.

Team USA coach Steve Kerr called the scrimmages a «time-honored tradition in USA Basketball,» mentioning the infamous scrimmage in 1992, when Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley led the Select Team to a victory over the Dream Team. He also recalled how the Select Team «came in and kicked our butts» before the World Cup in 2019.

«That's the whole point,» Kerr said. «You want to get great talent to come in and challenge you every which way. And that's what the Select Team did today. It's good stuff.»

The Select Team's impressive performance Friday was largely driven by the play of Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, who was back on the court in a competitive setting for the first time since Nov. 9. Cunningham played only 12 games last season before undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left leg.

On Friday, Cunningham didn't look like he'd missed a day on the court. Playing a role like the one Luka Doncic will for Slovenia, Cunningham did an admirable job performing like the Dallas Mavericks star beyond being roughly the same size. Kerr said he worked on the role with Select Team coach Jamahl Mosley in order to help the national team prepare for a potential matchup against Doncic in the World Cup.

Mostly, though, Cunningham said he was simply happy