The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup begins Aug. 25 and will be hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. Team USA is the betting favorite at -110, but the championship is no sure thing for this group.
Given the youth of Team USA and their lack of international experience, anything is possible, assuming they advance out of their group.
While nobody can match the depth of Team USA, other nations have chemistry and cohesion, for which there is no substitute. Also, this is not the NBA. The games will be played under FIBA rules, and this isn’t a best-of-seven playoff series.
Here are a couple of teams to look out for:
Australia
The Boomers are the third ranked team in the world and boast a roster with plenty of NBA experience, including: Xavier Cooks, Dyson Daniels, Dante Exum, Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Patty Mills, Matisse Thybulle, and Jack White.
Everyone on this team knows their role and has played in the Australian system for quite some time. There will be a level of familiarity that the U.S. players won’t have.
Canada
Our neighbors to the north are seen as an agreeable docile nation, but their hoopers are anything but. Their roster includes: Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Lu Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell, Oshae Brissett, Cory Joseph.
A Murray-SGA backcourt is going to be a nightmare for any team in this tournament. Add the defense of Barrett, Brooks and Dort and you’re cooking with gas. A lineup with those four plus Olynyk or Powell will be tough to out-execute in crunch time.
France
Allez les bleus! The fifth-ranked team in the world was the runner-up at last summer’s EuroBasket. They will be without teenage phenom Victor Wembanyama, but this squad knows how to compete and has beaten Team USA before.
The French roster includes: Frank Ntilikina, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Rudy Gobert. After their seasons, don’t you think Fournier and Gobert might have a little something extra to prove?
Slovenia
No disrespect to Vlatko Cancar, but the seventh-ranked team is here because of the greatness of Luka Dončić. We’ve seen Dončić carry a suspect squad to the conference finals in the NBA, and that’s best of seven.
Once you advance past the group stage into the second round and final phase, an elite player like Dončić who can control every aspect of the game is dangerous. He can slow a game down to the tempo he wants, and if he’s on a heater from deep, good night. His teammates will know how to play off him and space the floor. Don’t sleep on Slovenia.
