Boomers v Team USA: NBA great Tim Hardaway says unheralded Team USA squad will surprise Aussie fans

Sure, LeBron James, Steph Curry and James Harden won’t play, but NBA legend Tim Hardaway says fans who believe this is the worst Team USA basketball squad ever are in for a surprise.

NBA legend Tim Hardaway says the likes of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Kyle Kuzma will surprise Aussie hoops fans.

Australia is the site of one of NBA legend Tim Hardaway’s greatest achievements — an Olympic gold medal — and he expects this incarnation of Team USA to make its own mark Down Under.

In Melbourne to watch this week’s exhibition matches with the Boomers, Hardaway says the naysayers calling this squad the worst in USA basketball history were in for a surprise.

Tim Hardaway won gold with Team USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Picture: Getty Images

“People want LeBron (James) and James Harden and Steph Curry — I’ma tell you, they’re going to be surprised about how good these guys are,” Hardaway told the Herald Sun.

“They’re exuberant, exciting, they get up and down, they’re high flyers, people are going to see a lot of good basketball from these guys.

“They take pride in their games and they want to come out here and show the world why they are NBA ball players and why they are on the USA Team.”

Hardaway said the likes of Kyle Kuzma, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Donovan Mitchell might not be household names among casual basketball fans in Australia, but they soon will be.

Kemba Walker says his Team USA squad is prepared to prove the doubters wrong. Picture: Getty Images

Point guard Kemba Walker said the players “don’t care” about negativity surrounding the Team USA squad, focused on winning gold at the FIBA World Cup.

“We want to be here and are putting in the time to be here and we definitely take that as motivation,” Walker said.

“We have a bunch of guys who don’t mind being the underdogs — we are hungry — and we are going to go out there to try and win a gold medal.”

Walker believes the Boomers will have an advantage in their cohesion, with many having played together in club ball and in lead-up competition.

Hardaway was a star with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

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Former Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat star Hardaway says Aussie basketball has come a long way since he was facing off against Chicago Bulls triple-NBA champion Luc Longley in college in the 1980s, the Boomers now a competitive force on the international stage.

“That’s how I first got into knowing about Australian basketball and what they can do, but now you’ve got Ben Simmons, even thought he’s not going to play, you’ve got Patty Mills, Joe Ingles … everybody’s talking about USA USA USA, but we’re here in their neck of the woods and they want to come out here and show their country that they are somebody to be reckoned with,” the pioneer of the ‘Killer Crossover’ said.

“It’s going to be hard.”

Hardaway says the likes of Boomers guard Patty Mills has helped Australia become a force in international play. Picture: Getty Images

Fate twice stepped in on Hardaway’s hopes of representing Team USA, with a knee injury, then a lockout keeping out of international play.

A six-year wait ended with a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with the likes of legends Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.

“The second time in the lock out, I was like, ‘OK, I’m getting older now, this might not happen’,” he said.

“You know what, I didn’t miss it, it came back around to me and we made the most of it.

“I was very blessed to be on that team. God was on my side. Not only God, but a lot of guys who made that team were on my side and they said I deserved to be on that team and I thank them for it.”

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Originally published as Boomers v Team USA: NBA great Tim Hardaway says unheralded Team USA squad will surprise Aussie fans