CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Knight still holds out hope of returning to the NBA. He’s hoping that wearing USA across his chest for the next few days gets him closer to that goal.

Knight is one of the 12 players that USA Basketball took to Nicaragua this week for the start of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. The team’s first game is in Managua, and it’s the start of six two-game windows that will be held between now and March 2027.

As it does for most qualifying windows, USA Basketball put together a team that almost certainly will be together for only these two games; after Friday, the Americans return home and will play Nicaragua again at College Park, Georgia, on Monday.

“I still have love for the game,” Knight said. “Even if I wasn’t playing and striving, I’d be working out

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