Joe Ingles says the Boomers will let NBA superstar Ben Simmons lead the way at basketball World Cup

Joe Ingles is confident NBA superstar Ben Simmons will slot seamlessly into the Boomers squad for the World Cup, saying the Philadelphia 76ers point guard “can have the ball as much as he wants”.

Utah Jazz veteran Ingles and Simmons are among nine NBA players in an extended 18-man Australian squad named on Friday, which will be trimmed to 12 for the World Cup in China in August-September.

Thon Maker is the most notable omission after the Detroit Pistons made it clear they wanted the power forward to concentrate on his development in their off- season, while Ryan Broekhoff (personal reasons) and Dante Exum (injured) were also unavailable.

Seventeen players were named in the squad on Thursday morning, with 23-year-old swingman Xavier Cooks to be added as Maker’s replacement.

It shapes as the strongest-ever Boomers squad, one which is a genuine chance of podium finishes at September’s World Cup and next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Despite the unprecedented depth, the key man is still very much NBA All-Star Simmons, who confirmed his availability last week.

“He can have the ball as much as he wants,” Ingles told reporters on Thursday.

I’m assuming everyone here has watched Ben - if you haven’t you should.

“He’s just an unbelievable talent.

“It’s something we’re going to have to get used to and I don’t mean that in a bad way; we’ve just never had a player like that before.

“He’s going to have the ball (a lot), I predict that and I expect that and we’ll find ways to make it work.

“I don’t think anyone on our team is that ball-dominant or wants the ball that bad.”

The other current NBA players in the squad include Simmons’ Philadelphia teammate Jonah Bolden, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut and Deng Adel.

Ingles is excited by what 22-year-old forward Adel can bring to the Boomers, having forced his way onto the Cleveland Cavaliers squad late in the NBA season.

“He had to work for that - he didn’t get given it,” said Ingles.

“He got a little opportunity and took advantage of it.

“He’s super athletic, he can shoot a little bit.

“He’s one of those energy guys who leaves it all out there.”

European-based players Brock Motum (Turkey), Jock Landale (Serbia) and Cooks (Germany) were also included.

The squad will play four warm-up games prior to the World Cup - against Canada in Perth on August 16 and 17 and the United States in Melbourne on August 22 and 24.

Boomers squad: Deng Adel, Aron Baynes, Todd Blanchfield, Andrew Bogut, Jonah Bolden, Xavier Cooks, Mitch Creek, Matthew Dellavedova, Cameron Gliddon, Chris Goulding, Joe Ingles, Nicholas Kay, Jock Landale, Mitch McCarron, Patty Mills, Brock Motum, Ben Simmons, Nathan Sobey.