NBA star ‘fooled’ Italian basketball president by jumping ship to Team USA for FIBA World Cup

After initially committing to play for the Italian nationwide workforce on this 12 months’s FIBA World Cup, Paolo Banchero has since determined to play for Group USA.

The Orlando Magic star has twin citizenship within the U.S. and Italy – his father is of Italian descent, and he acquired an Italian passport in 2020.

With the change of coronary heart, Gianni Petrucci, the Italian basketball federation president, says Banchero left him blindsided.

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“Betrayal, particularly in basketball, is a robust phrase. Conditions like this occur, and personally, I am used to it. However he fooled us, we have been planning an incredible industrial technique for him,” Petrucci instructed Italian publication The Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday.

“It was a authentic resolution, however [Banchero] might have made a name to speak that to us,” Petrucci mentioned, in line with a translation from Basket News. “As an alternative, we realized about his resolution from the newspapers.”

Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic in motion throughout the first quarter of the sport towards the New York Knicks at Madison Sq. Backyard on October 24, 2022, in New York Metropolis. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Photos)

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Petrucci says the 2020 No. 1 total decide had been in Italy not too long ago, and he would have taken the information higher had Banchero instructed him of his resolution face-to-face.

“Up to now few days, [Banchero] was in Milan, and regardless of our agreements along with his company, he averted the assembly with coach Pozzecco,” Petrucci mentioned. “Now we have to flip this disappointment into optimistic vitality. I am positive our coach will be capable of do it.”

Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets in motion towards Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic at Barclays Middle on November 28, 2022, in New York Metropolis. (Mike Stobe/Getty Photos)

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The FIBA World Cup begins Aug. 25 in Manila, Philippines, and Group USA will likely be led by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.