Marvel Stadium could be the stage for a dream match-up between NBA superstars LeBron James and Ben Simmons when Team USA take on the Australian Boomers in a highly-anticipated FIBA World Cup warm-up series.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 90,000 tickets have been sold for the two-match series to be held in August as teams prepare for the World Cup that kicks off in China on August 31.
USA Basketball national team director Sean Ford and Basketball Australia acting chief executive Paul Maley led a delegation that toured the Docklands facility on Tuesday.
Ford outlined the difficulties involved in assembling a roster of NBA superstars, but is hopeful James, an unabashed fan of incoming coach Gregg Popovich, will opt in.
"I think he would like to play for coach Popovich but of all the athletes LeBron probably has the most going on both on and off the court," Ford said.
"I mean we would love to have him ... who wouldn't, right?
"He played in the World Cup in '06 then didn't play in '10 and '14, but he enjoys the Olympics as well ... we'll see how that goes."
James was part of gold medal Team USA squads at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but skipped Rio in 2016, citing the need for rest.
Whether 'King' James is present for the August 22 and 24 games or not, Ford is confident there will be plenty of big-name NBA talent on show.
"It's hard for us to say 'These five or six guys will be here'," he said.
"I'm confident that we will have a quality team here with high-level NBA players ... who exactly they will be I can't say right now."
Simmons remains coy about his availability for the World Cup.
With a mega-dollars contract extension with Philadelphia 76ers in the offing, he has a lot to lose if he suffers a major injury playing for his country.
"He is a 22-year-old and most of us can only comprehend a little bit of what his life is like," Maley said.
"He's in the middle of a season where they are legitimately hopeful of going deep into the play-offs, then there's contracts coming up and all sorts of things.
"There's no question we would love for him to play but at the same time we understand he's got a lot to figure out over the coming months.
"We're hopeful but I couldn't say (for sure) and I don't think anybody could."
Australian Associated Press
