LAS VEGAS — A few hours before he would face the most important test of his international playing career, Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard decided he needed a workout.
So on Sunday night, the evening before the start of the USA Basketball training camp, he met a friend in the lobby of their Las Vegas hotel and headed over to the Mendenhall Center for a rigorous session of individual drills, shooting and highly competitive games of one-on-one.
Lillard's playing partner that night: Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving.
As they have competed against each other in USA Basketball camps the last two summers — first on the Select Team and now on the National Team — two of the NBA's best and brightest young stars have blossomed from rivals into friends. They play perhaps the deepest position in the NBA and are part of the most intense and spirited competition at this week's training camp.
And when it's all said and done next month, with Derrick Rose developing into a near-lock and Stephen Curry strengthening his chances every day, the final guard spot on the USA's 12-man roster at next month's FIBA World Cup may come down to one of the two burgeoning friends.
It's a fitting situation for a unique relationship.
"We always want to get the best out of each other," Irving said. "Off the court, we're great friends. But on the court, we want to rip each other's hearts out."
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