Team USA to face Puerto Rico Aug. 7 in FIBA World Cup tune-up

Team USA will play an exhibition game against Puerto Rico on Aug. 7 in Las Vegas to start its preparations for the FIBA World Cup later this summer.

USA Basketball announced the game, which will be played at T-Mobile Arena at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, on Tuesday. It will come at the conclusion of a week-long training camp at their traditional home at UNLV to be held by new national team coach Steve Kerr.

The Americans will play five exhibition games leading up to the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 25 in Manila, Philippines. They will play Slovenia and Spain in Malaga, Spain, and then host their own showcase event where they will face Greece and Germany in Abu Dhabi before going to Manila.

Managing director Grant Hill, preparing for this first major event in the role, and Kerr have been recruiting players and working on getting commitments for months.

Team USA, the current Olympic champions, are looking to win back the World Cup after finishing seventh the last time in 2019 in China. They have drawn Greece (Aug. 26), Jordan (Aug. 28) and New Zealand (Aug. 30) in their group to begin the tournament.