Another two FIBA World Championship games for Team USA, another two impressive showings by Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried. It’s become clockwork to see the forward tear up this summer’s tournament.
Faried led all scorers with 16 points in Team USA’s 106-71 rout of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and followed it up in the 95-71 win against Ukraine by leading the team with eight rebounds. He had a well-rounded game against both foes, as he shot 73 percent and added six rebounds against the Dominicans, and somehow got better by shooting 83 percent and adding 10 points against Ukraine.
The MANIMAL has arrived ladies and gentleman. Night in and night out he’s been a big contributor to a front court that has lead Team USA to an undefeated 5-0 record in Spain, and Faried’s been an absolute blast in this tournament with his energy and dunks giving the fans something to cheer for.
In Spain, Faried is shooting an unbelievable 79.1 percent across five games. He’s basically been unstoppable when he’s decided to score, and the biggest surprise of the tournament is how well Faried, a player who got invited to Team USA training camp to rebound and hustle, has scored at will. He’s now been the leading scorer for Team USA in two of five games, and he was the second leading scorer for Team USA in the win against New Zealand.
He’s second to none when it comes to rebounding and player efficiency for Team USA. Faried’s 7.8 rebound average is 1.3 more rebounds than second leading rebounder Anthony Davis. He’s PER is 21.6 (according to FIBA.com), a full point higher than Davis, and not to mention his average plus/minus differential of 20.6 is only 0.6 less James Harden‘s team-leading 21.2.
The Manimal’s emerged as a leader for Team USA, and his leading statistics prove it. It would have been crazy to mention him as a top two scorer (ahead of James Harden, Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, and Rudy Gay) for the team before the tournament, and not many would have bet on him to out-rebound Anthony Davis. That’s a claim even Nuggets fans would’ve hesitated to make.
Nuggets fans have to be elated though. If Faried can translate this domination to the NBA game, it could be a significant step in the development of a true championship contender. Yes, the NBA is a much tougher league and grind than the FIBA tournament, but it’s always a good sign to see Faried outplay his fellow NBAers night in and night out — no matter the venue.
It’s an even better sign that Kenneth Faried wants to be a Denver Nugget. Lost in the excellent play was Faried’s talk on Wednesday about staying a Nugget. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that, for one, Faried’s representatives are engaged with the Nuggets on a contract extension (WE FINALLY HAVE CONFIRMATION, YAY!). And, for two, he “longs to be a long term Nugget.”
As frequently as we’ve seen Faried look like a star for Team USA this summer, we sure haven’t seen the phrase “longs to be long term Nugget” enough. It’s great the Nuggets are officially working on Faried’s contract extension. Based on his FIBA domination, they may finally have a star that WANTS to be in Denver.