Team USA took a first step toward officially clinching its spot in the 2027 FIBA World Cup over the past week, blowing out Nicaragua in a pair of qualifying games. The U.S. team, which won by 35 points on Friday and by 24 points on Monday, will take a 2-0 record into the next round of World Cup qualifiers in late February.
As we detailed in November, Team USA’s roster for those first two qualifying games featured several NBA veterans, including Brandon Knight, Torrey Craig, and Kessler Edwards. The team’s standout performer against Nicaragua, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, was former first-round pick MarJon Beauchamp.
Beauchamp, who turned 25 in October, spent three seasons in the NBA after being drafted 24th overall in 2022, appearing in 135 total games for the Bucks, Clippers, and Knicks. He’s currently a free agent, but he made a strong case during his brief stint with Team USA that he deserves consideration from NBA teams. The 6’7″ forward set a Team USA record by scoring 50 total points across those two games — he made 18-of-26 shots from the floor (69.2%), including 9-of-14 three-pointers (64.3%).
“Yeah, he’s gonna be in the NBA at some point, whether it’s tomorrow or later this year,” said Stephen Silas, the head coach of the U.S. qualifying team, per Vardon.
Beauchamp spent the first two-and-a-half years of his professional career in Milwaukee before being traded to the Clippers at last season’s deadline. He was waived by L.A. a few weeks later and quickly caught on with the Knicks on a two-way contract for the rest of the season.
Beauchamp spent time with Portland and Philadelphia this fall and opened the season with the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ G League affiliate. According to Vardon, the former G League Ignite standout is weighing offers from European teams while still hoping to get a call from an NBA suitor. He remains eligible for a two-way contract.
Although Beauchamp didn’t receive consistent rotation minutes during his three NBA seasons, he pointed to a stretch early in the 2023/24 season under then-Bucks coach Adrian Griffin as an example of the kind of role he believes he’s capable of playing. Before Griffin was replaced by Doc Rivers, Beauchamp was averaging 15.7 minutes per night and knocking down 40.3% of his three-pointers through 34 outings.
“I don’t know if people remember my second year in the NBA,” Beauchamp said. “I was playing for Coach Griffin as the seventh man, shooting 40 percent (on three-pointers) off the bench. Doc came in and kind of switched everything up, but my shooting is kind of the one thing people harp on, like I’m not capable. But I really haven’t gotten the opportunity after Coach Griffin. But I stayed believing.”