New York Knicks‘ young duo of Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin will be getting summer reps against the Team USA in Las Vegas later this month.
Quickley and Toppin are part of the young USA Select Team that will help the Olympics roster train for the Tokyo Summer Games.
Joining them are Detroit’s Saddiq Bey Isaiah Stewart, Minnesota’ Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges, and PJ Washington, Miami’s Tyler Herro, Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton, San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson, Chicago’s Patrick Williams, and Cleveland’s Darius Garland. Rounding up the young squad are journeymen Josh Magette, who mostly played in Europe, Dakota Mathias, who last signed with Philadelphia in 2020 as a two-way player, and Cam Reynolds, who last signed a 10-day contract with Houston this season.
Quickley proved to be a steal for the Knicks at the 25th pick in the last NBA Draft. Quickley averaged 11.4 points off the bench while shooting 38.9 percent of his 3s in 19.4 minutes off the bench. He also added 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists on his way to being named to the All-NBA Rookie Second Team.
Toppin, the Knicks’ lottery pick at No. 8, had less exposure playing behind the league’s Most Improved Player Julius Randle. The Brooklyn native averaged only 4.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench. But Toppin showed much more promise during the playoffs, where he looked better than Randle in his limited minutes on the floor. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13 minutes with a much-improved shooting split of 52/33/83.
It will be interesting to see how Toppin will be used by the Team USA Select coach Erik Spoelstra. Assisting Spoelstra will be Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and Dallas Mavericks’ assistant coach Jamahl Mosley.
The USA Select Team will train daily with the Olympics-bound Team USA led by Kevin Durant, Dame Lillard, and Bradley Beal, from July 6 to 9 at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center.
Meanwhile, NBC Sports will air Team USA’s five exhibition matches in Las Vegas on NBCSN and Olympic Channel starting against Nigeria on July 10 at 7 p.m. Team USA will also face Argentina, who will feature newly-signed Knicks guard Luca Vildoza on July 13.
See the full telecast schedule below:
USA Basketball Men’s National Team Games | |||
Date | Coverage | Network | Time ET |
July 10 | USA vs. Nigeria | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
July 12 | USA vs. Australia | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
July 13 | USA vs. Argentina | NBCSN | 6 p.m. |
July 16 | USA vs. Australia | NBCSN | 6 p.m. |
July 18 | USA vs. Spain | NBCSN | 9 p.m. |
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