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FIBA World Cup: What We Learned About Each Player On Team USA’s Roster

By Gerald Bourguet

Team USA won the gold medal of the FIBA World Cup with a win over Serbia Sunday. (Photo Credit: FIBA photo)
Team USA won the gold medal of the FIBA World Cup with a win over Serbia Sunday. (Photo Credit: FIBA photo) /
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FIBA World Cup
Kenneth Faried brought a ton of energy to Team USA, especially in the group stage. (Photo Credit: FIBA photo) /

Kenneth Faried

No current NBA player helped their stock for the upcoming season more than Kenneth Faried did this summer. Only months ago, the Denver Nuggets were reportedly shopping him. Now, Faried’s stellar play and — dare I say — leadership has him lined up for a nice contract extension in the near future that may crack double digit figures per year.

Is The Manimal a max player now? Hell no. Shooting 63.7 percent from the field is awfully impressive, but considering the competition and the fact that Faried’s hustle and energy was really tailor-made for this kind of tournament, Denver probably shouldn’t put too much stock in the Manimal’s promising summer.

Still, it’s worth noting that until the knockout rounds, Faried was Team USA’s best player…convincingly. His numbers ended up being pretty comparable to Anthony Davis‘ numbers, and Faried led Team USA in rebounding with 7.8 boards per game. He was also USA Basketball’s third-leading scorer with 12.4 points per game and made the FIBA All-Tournament Team. After this tournament, the Nuggets will be hoping The Manimal is taking steps toward being a 20-10 guy for the future.