It’s not a secret that Team USA features some of the best players on Earth. LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry are just a handful of the legends who have donned their jersey.
The U.S. has hisorically dominated their competition. Outside of some brief stretches, they were the undisputed best team on Earth, so they could afford to let some NBA stars play for other teams.
That could’ve been the case with Kyrie Irving. He was born in Australia and actually wanted to play for them. However, he recently admitted Coach K would’ve never allowed that.
Kyrie Irving Didn’t Play For Australia Because Of Coach K
“I consider myself an international player even though I played on Team USA,” Irving said. “A lot of my peers laugh at me when I bring it up and some fans may not agree, but I was born in Australia.”
“Team USA asked me to play for them when I was 17 or 18,” continued Kyrie. “I wanted to play for Australia, but it just didn’t happen. Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) wasn’t going to let that happen either.”
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Mike Krzyzewski coached Team USA and Duke, so his ties with both institutions — as well with Kyrie — pretty much go without saying. Even so, it seems like they could’ve fared just fine without him anyway.
