Kansas City native to represent Team USA basketball at FIBA World Cup qualifiers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City native Jacob Gilyard is one of 12 players on USA’s FIBA qualifying roster.
- Gilyard will report to Team USA in Miami later this week for training camp.
- He set the NCAA career steals record at 466 and played in the NBA (2022-24) and Europe.
Kansas City native and March Madness darling Jacob Gilyard will be representing Team USA for the first time in his career.
The 5-8 point guard is one of 12 players on USA’s men’s FIBA World Cup qualifying team, led by Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff and longtime overseas star Mike James. It's a roster filled with fringe NBA players turned overseas veterans, like Gilyard, who lead the way during qualifiers until NBA stars make up the World Cup roster.
Gilyard, a Barstow School alum, will report to Miami with the team later this week for training camp before playing at the Dominican Republic on July 3 and then visiting Mexico on July 6. USA lost to the DR in the last qualifying window in February, their only loss in four first-round qualifier games.
Gilyard and the Richmond Spiders captured the nation in 2022 when they upset No. 5-seed Iowa as a 12-seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In the same season, he set the NCAA all-time career steals record at 466.
After going undrafted in 2022, Gilyard played in 42 NBA games in two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets between 2022-2024, averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 assists per game.
After a short stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and their G League team, he’s been playing in Europe, recently finishing a season in France with the BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque.
