The NBA official has a promising prediction for Philippine basketball.
The 1992 Dream Team was the squad that sparked inspiration for a whole generation of athletes. Imagine what this year's FIBA World Cup can deliver.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum presented the idea to One News' Thought Leaders host Cathy Yang during an episode of One Sports' The Game.
"I think there's going to be a tremendous amount of momentum that happens in this region coming out of the World Cup," Tatum told Yang. "One of the things that sparked the interest of the international game was the 1992 Dream Team, when we first sent NBA players to the Olympics."
"And that team, I know, inspired generations of future NBA players."
Some of those players will be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame this year, including Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, France's Tony Parker, and Spain's Pau Gasol.
Nowitzki is in the Philippines as the players' representative in the FIBA Central Board, while Gasol serves as a FIBA World Cup global ambassador.
Tatum, who is also the NBA representative to the FIBA Central Board, shared how Parker was inspired to wear the no. 9 jersey for the San Antonio Spurs since basketball superstar Michael Jordan wore the same number for Team USA in 1992.
"Players like Tony, Pau, Dirk, that Dream Team inspired them to bounce a ball instead of kick the ball," Tatum said. "That is gonna be the legacy that this World Cup leaves."
The NBA has gone global, with Tatum noting that at least 25% of players were born outside the United States.
That means fans can expect to see stars even outside Team USA, such as Luka Doncic for Slovenia, Giannis Antetokounmpo for Greece, Nikola Jokic for Serbia, Lauri Markkanen for Finland, and perhaps entire NBA contingents representing France and Canada.
Even Jordan Clarkson has committed for the Philippines in the World Cup.
"Whether you're from the United States or not, there's going to be amazing competition here because the level of basketball in this World Cup, I think, will be unprecedented," Tatum declared.
"Maybe one day, soon, there would be a homegrown player from the Philippines who ends up playing in the NBA because they saw NBA players [here]."