As the Draft Combine was winding down in Chicago, future No.1 draft pick Kyrie Irving threw out a surprise twist, according to a tweet from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress:
Irving said he was “strongly considering” playing for the Australian national team this summer. Australia will be trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics
Irving owns dual citizenship so… nope, can’t do it.
Givony points out that Irving played for Team USA last summer (not in Turkey at the FIBA World Championships but in other major FIBA sanctioned events).
FIBA regulations (which mimic FIFA soccer and other international sports regulations) state that once you play for a country in an official FIBA event after your 17th birthday, you are committed to that country for the rest of your playing days. Irving was 18 when he played last summer.
Irving will be playing only for Team USA in the future when it comes to international basketball. Sorry kid, those are the rules.
