We're almost there.
The Australian Boomers squad was initially 18, then 15, and now it's sitting at 13.
It's enough progress that we can get a good gauge of what exactly Brian Goorjian is looking for in his final team ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but there's still one too many.
It's almost been like a reality show, with the finale right around the corner. The 13-man squad announced on Wednesday evening will participate in a trio of warmup games in Melbourne in the middle of August, and only 12 will survive.
Australian Boomers' 13-man squad: Xavier Cooks, Dyson Daniels, Danté Exum, Josh Giddey, Chris Goulding, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Patty Mills, Duop Reath, Matisse Thybulle, Jack White
Who will make the final cut?
So far, and almost unexpectedly given how volatile any national team selection process usually is, the team is filling out exactly how most of us expected.
There are the carry-overs from the Tokyo Olympics campaign -- except Matthew Dellavedova, who entered this campaign as a fringe player -- and the new kids on the block in Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels. There have been no real surprises in this rolling selection thus far and, with one final cut to be made, the warmup games in Melbourne will actually have more meaning than they perhaps otherwise would have.
When looking at the 13-man squad, there are four names that stand out as not being absolute locks: Danté Exum, Xavier Cooks, Jack White, and Daniels.
From the very beginning, there was a sense that there would be a selection battle between Cooks and Jack White, so we're going to zone in on that, because it looks like we may still be trending toward that. Those two vying for the final spot on this team feels like the most likely scenario going into Melbourne.
Both bring a similar skillset from a defensive perspective, so it may well come down to whether Goorjian and his staff prefer the connecting ability of Cooks or the extra shooting White would bring. At this point, there's no real word on which player they prefer and, with Jock Landale (ankle) likely to miss the Boomers' warmup games in Melbourne, there are extra frontcourt minutes for us all to see who steps up and takes that spot from the other.
There's also a non-zero chance that Goorjian would want to bring both of those big, versatile forwards and instead just opt for one backup point guard for this World Cup. It's not unreasonable to trust the creation that exists across the other spots on this Boomers squad, so selecting both Cooks and White - and leaving off one of Exum or Daniels - while it doesn't seem likely, isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.
The new calling card: positional versatility
Talking with people in the Australian basketball space about how the Boomers rotation looks is a very fun exercise, and this squad is why.
Josh Giddey is the starting point guard, but he can also slide all the way up to the four-spot. Joe Ingles could be the starting three-man or four-man. Josh Green can play two-through-four and even get minutes at the point. Matisse Thybulle can play two-through-four, Exum maybe one-through-three. Who knows what position Xavier Cooks or Jack White could play on this team? That's the point, though.
The positional versatility on this squad -- and eventually the final 12-man team -- is unbelievably impressive. The nature of the size, length, and athleticism of the team, especially the wings, means Goorjian has a multitude of different lineups he can play with.
It's something only Team USA, and potentially Canada during this cycle, really have the capacity to do: throw away traditional 'positions' and instead focus on how a player's skillset fits at each spot. The Boomers had a taste of that during the Tokyo Olympics - Thybulle was the big catalyst for it - but those athletic wing pieces will be something Goorjian plans to lean on in an even more significant way at this World Cup.
"I think, if you said 'what did we do well [in Tokyo]?', I thought we were better defensively, and I did think we were more athletic on the perimeter," the Boomers' head coach told ESPN prior to this week's camp.
"I think we've advanced there with the group, and we've got a style of play, and we're gonna add a couple of pieces to that.
"I thought we moved the ball, I thought we got in the lanes, we trapped on-balls, we rotated, we played at a higher tempo. I think the selection of this team, when you look at it, there's more depth in the areas we're talking about. We're even longer, and we've got more depth as far as athleticism goes, which is different to the teams in the past in Australia."
So, at the warmup games in Melbourne, don't be surprised to see some funky lineups. We could get Nick Kay starting at the four - like he did during much of the Olympics - or one of the Boomers' collection of wings beginning games at that spot.
The possibilities are endless.
End of an era
First, Aron Baynes missed out on selection in the 18-man extended squad; that was already a tangible sign of a generational shift for the Boomers.
On Wednesday, though, Matthew Dellavedova was among the final cuts from Goorjian's team, likely signalling the end of major international tournament representation for the pair of three-time Olympians.
Finding the balance between up-and-coming youth and experience has always been a challenge for the Boomers. Over the years, we've seen a young Simmons miss the final cut of a team -- he still holds ill feelings toward the program for that decision -- while Giddey missed out on the 2021 Olympic team. There's value in blooding the obvious Boomers of the future, but one has to find the balance between that and continuing to prioritise winning. Andrej Lemanis had his fair share of critics throughout his tenure - including this author - and Goorjian had the same when he didn't select Giddey during the last campaign.
Goorjian's decision this time around, though, was perhaps easier than those in the past. Dyson Daniels, 20, ostensibly made this squad over Dellavedova, but is coming off an effective rookie season with the New Orleans Pelicans; put simply, he's an obvious Boomers lock for the next decade and beyond, but there's also reason to believe he can compete at the necessary level to be of value for a senior national team today.
Both Baynes and Dellavedova will be remembered as among the greatest Boomers of all time. The pair have been extremely effective over their respective national team careers - particularly during the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2019 FIBA World Cup, where Australia twice finished fourth - and each have a bronze medal to show for it.