Retaining title of world champions matters more than anything else for Faried

BARCELONA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Kenneth Faried may have come into the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup with eyebrows being raised about his inclusion on the USA the roster, but the Denver Nuggets power forward more than justified Mike Krzyzewski's call with his spectacular display on either end of the floor.

But Faried, known as 'The Manimal', refuses to acknowledge he is a star.

"I'm not the star. I'm just playing basketball and having fun. I don't think we have a star on this team. Everybody just contributes on certain nights and gives it their all," he said.

We all share the ball. There is no one player, one star on the team. - Faried

"Everybody wants to touch the ball. Everybody gets to score the ball."

Neither does the fact that he is a top contender for the tournament's MVP award matter to him.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried about getting the gold. I just want to win and go home with this gold medal on my neck," he said.

Faried however is confident that the USA can defend their title as world champions to retain the Naismith Trophy and take home the aforementiond gold medals.

"We're confident in ourselves. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know where the chips may fall, but we're confident in each other. We're confident in ourselves," he said.

"God willing, we will win the tournament and go home with a gold. But, if not, as long as we put our best effort forth and our best foot forth, then we got to live with the results."

While he doesn't see himself as a star, the 24-year-old acknowledges that he brings a essential intangible to his team - energy.

"I'm playing basketball. I'm playing the game I love. I'm playing the game that I grew up loving and grew up watching guys play hard. It just comes because I love the game so much," he said.

Faried is also having a good time too.

"It's just a big, fun learning experience for me. As the days go on and time goes on, I'm just learning more and more and just being really respectful to the coaches," he added.

I'm loving this experience, being out here with this group of guys, playing hard each and every day. - Faried

Looking ahead to Thursday's Semi-Final against Lithuania, Faried said: "We're ready. We're going to lock in and be ready for that one."

"I know they got (Jonas) Valanciunas, who plays for the Toronto Raptors. He's a good big, and he's going to be a force down there, but we're ready for him. We're ready for whatever."

FIBA