The USA's squad for the World Championships may be full of exciting youngsters, but one man bucking that trend is 35-year-old Bruce Bowen, who will make his first appearance in the red, white and blue.

Bowen has collected two championship rings with San Antonio, but it has been a tough road to success.

No club saw fit to draft Bowen out of Cal State Fullerton college in 1993, forcing him into the Continental Basketball Association and then the French leagues.

After stints at several NBA clubs, Bowen finally made a name for himself at the Spurs, and now has a chance to climb the summit of world basketball, something that seemed impossible less than a decade ago.

"When you're in Loire, France, it's not a city I knew anything about, much less thought I would play there," Bowen told FIBA.com.

"You just have to focus on your goals. I thought, this is just where I have to start, at the bottom.

"I've had a lot of obstacles in my life. I never would have envisioned being a part of something like this.

"It is one of the most humbling and yet exciting things for me, to do this for my country."

While Bowen's place in the side was never certain, Cleveland star Lebron James was always a certain starter for the US team.

"I wasn't sweating, but it makes basketball a lot more fun when you're with a great team, and when you're around guys you know," James said.

"Guys were great about coming in here and not having a personal agenda. We're just all here to make a team, and we've got to do it as quickly as possible."