Getty Tyrese Haliburton #4 and Jalen Brunson #11 of the United States walk on the court during a break in the second half of a 2023 FIBA World Cup exhibition game against Puerto Rico.
Jalen Brunson trolled his Team USA teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Brandon Ingram over their “lost wallet” prank they pulled on the New York Knicks star.
Brunson left his wallet after quarterbacking Team USA’s 117-74 shellacking of Puerto Rico Monday night in Las Vegas at the start of their Showcase games ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Haliburton and Ingram took advantage and used Brunson’s credit card to buy some snacks.
Brunson, known for trolling his Knicks teammates on Twitter (now rebranded as “X”), did the same to Haliburton and Ingram.
“Can’t even be good criminals, smh (shake my head),” Brunson posted on his Twitter, an apparent dig on his Team USA teammates for just spending his money on cheap items.
Brunson and Haliburton had sensational Team USA debuts, with the Knicks star collecting a double-double (11 points and game-high 12 rebounds) to go with three assists, one steal and a block. Haliburton came off the bench to dish out a game-high 12 assists that went with seven points, four rebounds and one block as the duo provided a solid point-guard rotation for Steve Kerr.
Haliburton led Team USA on the plus-minus column with +24, followed by Brunson’s +23.
Ingram added 11 points as seven Team USA players scored in double figures in a well-balanced attack led by Anthony Edwards’s 15 points.
Jalen Brunson Is Team USA’s Leader
Brunson appears to have locked the starting point guard spot for Team USA, with the All-Star Haliburton as his backup.
Brunson has started in all their scrimmages and Team USA’s rousing victory over Puerto Rico Monday night that kickstarted the USA Basketball Showcase games.
“I think Jalen is such a natural leader,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr told ESPN during their training camp last weekend. “Because he’s a point guard, he immediately comes to mind. He’s the one who’s leading the ‘1, 2, 3 USA’ chant. Some guys just, it just comes naturally to them.”
“But we’ve got a great group. There’s leadership that comes from a lot of them and it’s fun to see.”
Brunson pushed the pace at every opportunity against the Puerto Ricans as the Americans shot a blistering 56.4% from the field. The Knicks star kept the ball moving and only looked after his shorts in the latter part of the game when the game was already beyond reach.
Brunson and Team USA hit the road as they continue their preparation in Malaga, Spain, where they will face his former Dallas Mavericks teammate Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Saturday and top-ranked Spain on Sunday. From Spain, they travel to the United Arab Emirates to face Greece on Aug. 18 and Germany on Aug. 20 for their final warmup games before heading to Manila, Philippines.
RJ Barrett Shifts Focus This Summer
RJ Barrett shifted his focus this summer, according to his trainer Drew Hanlen departing from their old workout regiment with an emphasis on shiftiness.
“And so this summer, instead of spending time on shiftiness, which just hasn’t clicked over the last year and a half-ish of trying to implement that in some of his workouts, we really spend more time on getting outside defenders’ hips so that he can use his strength to get through defenders, instead of naturally shifting [past] them,” Hanlen said on the Big Knick Energy podcast.
Barrett is expected to showcase the stuff he worked on with Hanlen when he plays for Canada in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He will see action on Wednesday against Germany in the first of five warmup games for Canada in Europe.