Brooklyn's Cam Johnson had a chance to represent Croatia in World Cup / News - Basketnews.com

Johnson's mother has Croatian roots that would have allowed him to represent Croatia internationally but the forward chose to play for Team USA.

Credit: AP Photo/John Munson - Scanpix Credit AP Photo/John Munson - Scanpix

Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson will represent Team USA in the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup. He had a chance, however, to play for a national team from Europe.

Cameron Johnson

Team:Brooklyn NetsPosition:SFAge:27Height:206 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the 27-year-old has committed to play in the tournament, joining his teammate Mikal Bridges. He had an option, however, to represent the country of Croatia.

Croatian outlet Sportske's Goran Cicin-Masansker notes that Johnson's mother has Croatian roots that could have forged a path for the forward to representing the Balkan nation.

The journalist also writes that Johnson's former teammate at Phoenix Suns Dario Saric tried to persuade him during the season to choose Croatia as his international stop but the effort apparently hasn't borne fruit.

Croatian basketball is in a troubled state at the moment with the national team having to fight from the lowest level of qualifiers for upcoming international tournaments. Croatia is currently playing in the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers whose winner only advances to the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.

The Croatian Basketball Federation faced multiple issues this past year as well with sporting director Aco Petrovic resigning from the head coaching position in the middle of the season and even departing the organization later on.

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