USA's Jalen Brunson, Steve Kerr talk about pressure of being World Cup favorites

Coming in with an all-NBA team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA landed in Manila as top contenders for the gold medal.

For head coach Steve Kerr and Jalen Brunson, the pressure or the weight of being favorites, is something they just include in their preparations.

"For me personally, there's no such thing as pressure," Brunson said in a press conference on Friday. "I figured out that as long as I am continually working hard on my game, putting everything I can into what I do, in my craft, there's no such thing as pressure."

Brunson said there may be different moments in a game where stakes may be high, but he has his teammates to rely on.

"As long as I keep working hard and knowing that I'm doing something every day to get better, there's no pressure," he added.

"For the team, we're going to rely on each other when moments like that happen. Where all we got and that's all we can worry about."

Kerr, meanwhile, said the pressure is always a part of a competition.

"We all love what we do. I love coaching, I love the weight or the pressure or how you might want to describe it of competition, and part of being a competitor is embracing the fact that you can lose," the Team USA coach said.

"What goes into that is the effort and the approach and the chemistry and I love being part of a team. I love doing what we're doing right now, trying to build something and have something at stake," Kerr said, referring to the possibility of winning the gold medal.

The champion coach said while they will approach the games having fun and the mindset of being fortunate to be here, they will still have their eyes on the prize.

"We're putting in the effort, we want to win, whatever happens, happens, and we'll live with that. That's part of the competition."

Team USA will face New Zealand in their World Cup opener on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News