It was July, 2018.

Fresh off a blistering playoff performance against the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton was invited to Team USA camp, part of a 35-man star-studded group that included LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden and others.

For the 6-foot-8 Middleton, inclusion in that squad was the first milestone in a crucial season ahead, as free agency loomed the following summer.

It was during this three-day camp that a vital interaction took place, when Team USA head coach, Gregg Popovich, pulled Middleton aside to offer some words of encouragement.

“[Middleton] was one of those guys, he came, he was talented, he was happy to be there, but I just wanted to get across to him that he belonged, and he should start to assert himself, be more aggressive and not defer to anybody,” Popovich recalled in Melbourne last week, during Team USA’s pre-World Cup tour of Australia.

“He’s grown into that,” Popovich added. “Coach Bud did a great job with him in Milwaukee last year and now he’s a full blown very good player.”

Full blown very good player is an excellent description for Middleton who became a first-time All-Star in 2018-19, playing a vital role in the Bucks’ first 60-win season since 1981.

Speaking with Bucks.com in Melbourne, Middleton vividly remembers the conversation with Popovich, admitting it was a welcomed reminder that he did indeed fit with the marquee superstars he was scrimmaging with in Las Vegas.

“Just for him to give me that little bit of confidence meant a lot to me,” Middleton said.

“I’ve kind of been the guy that stays in my lane, knows what I bring to the table, but when you’ve got somebody like that going out of his way to say something like that, of course you are going to want that. It gave me a boost for sure.”

It was undeniably a career-best season for Middleton in 2018-19, though it wasn’t always smooth sailing, with an early season shooting slump presenting a significant challenge.

December 13, 2018: As Milwaukee players began to file out of the visitors’ locker room at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana, Middleton was courted by a small group of media members in attendance.

The Bucks suffered a rare early season loss, falling 113-97 to the Pacers, dropping to 18-9 on the season and enduring just their second double-digit loss. It was a tough night for Middleton in particular, who finished with 10 points on 4-for-18 shooting from the field, including 0-for-7 mark from beyond the three-point line.

The game completed a tough seven-game shooting stretch of 29-for-99 (29.3%) from the field, and 14-for-48 (29.2%) from three. Middleton was polite as always when answering questions regarding the slump, but the frustration was beginning to show.

“If you’ve been a Bucks fan for a while, this isn’t new. I’ve gone through slumps every season I’ve been here. At some point, it’s going to come through. Just got to keep shooting, stay patient,” Middleton said with a shrug.

Keep shooting Middleton did, and inevitably, the ball once again began to find the bottom of the net with regularity, highlighted by a slump-busting three-game burst spanning the New Year, where Middleton averaged 25.3 points per game on 65% shooting from the field and 46% from three.

“I was just searching for something, some type of confidence and I remembered that [conversation with Popovich],” Middleton recalled. “I was just trying to find different things but that was definitely one of the times I pulled that out of the memory bank and told myself I was going to be ok.

Thirteen months since that conversation with Popovich, Middleton is in China, with Team USA’s World Cup opener against the Czech Republic just days away. That one conversation still providing a significant reminder that NBA stars are in fact human, and not all wired the same way.

“They’re people, they aren’t automatized, or just workhorses that just play basketball, they’re thinking beings and you have to take some of those personalities that are different and confidence levels,” Popovich said.

“Everybody grows up differently, everybody feels a certain way about themselves and it’s important to find the people that maybe need a little boost. Some people are just very, very humble, very introverted. You’ve got to bring them out a little bit. It’s one of the fun things about coaching.”

When Milwaukee travelled to Oakland on November 9, Steve Kerr spoke about the under-the-radar Buck before the game at Oracle Arena that night.

“I think [Middleton] has always been respected around the league. Maybe not as well-known as other players in his class, but he’s an excellent player,” Kerr said.

Fast forward to Australia, now assistant coach of Team USA, Kerr, acknowledges the spike in confidence from last July in Vegas to now is clear.

“Big time. He was an All-Star this year, a great player for Milwaukee, he earned himself a big contract. I think in the last year he’s taken a big leap in his own career and in his own confidence and he’s going to be one our key guys,” Kerr told Bucks.com.

Middleton does indeed figure to be one of the key cogs in this USA squad, due to the fact the former second-round draft pick now knows he belongs, knows he’s an All-Star and knows he is ready to contribute for his country – a dream he’s held since growing up in Charleston, South Carolina.

“The guys that we have here are great,” Middleton said about his fellow USA teammates. “We know what each one of us bring to the table and we have confidence in ourselves to get this job done, no matter who is here or who is not here.”

“The guys that the 12-man roster is going to be, we are going to rock with it, we are going to have confidence, we aren’t going to have any doubts about ourselves because we are all great basketball players.”

Hardly the words of someone who needs to be told he belongs.