Josh Giddey believes playing international basketball over the offseason can help players gain a rhythm heading into the NBA season.
Despite it being usually the slowest time of the year, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a pretty busy August.
In the 2023 FIBA World Cup, five Thunder players suited up for their home countries and participate in the 32-team international tournament. This summer also marked the first time Josh Giddey donned the Australian uniform.
The 20-year-old’s youthfulness did not deter Australia from naming him the face of the program for the foreseeable future. In his first stint with the Boomers, Giddey averaged 19.4 points, five rebounds and six assists in five group games.
Even though Australia didn’t advance past the group stage, Giddey said it was a valuable experience that helped him get warmed up for the regular season. It also helped him experiment a bit more as a lead scorer.
“This was the first offseason I’ve had playing FIBA with my country,” Giddey said. “I think it’s good that you’re not taking that long of a break playing organized basketball. Next year it’s going to be the Olympics and then we’re going to come right back into the season.”
“I love playing basketball all year round. It’s a dream situation for what I want to do,” Giddey continued. “I think it does help with the continuity and flow of things – you’re able to keep playing against elite, world-class competition and when you come back into this building, you continue that flow on.”
As Giddey mentioned, he’ll have that chance to start a rhythm heading into next year’s training camp when Australia gets a chance to play in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
“Any chance we he to play the game, we’re going to take it,” Giddey continued. “FIBA ball is a great way for us to — not work on our games — but continue the flow of gameplay and keeping that feeling going heading into the season.”
Josh Giddey on the benefits of playing FIBA & Olympic basketball over the offseason: pic.twitter.com/7ibn934ikG
One of the reasons why Team USA struggled to even earn a bronze medal was due to a lack of size in the frontcourt. They struggled on the defensive end of the floor and had a massive deficiency when it came to rebounding the ball.
This is a team that will need legitimate big men in order to compete with tough international talent in the post such as Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as well as France’s Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama.
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was asked about what changes may come before the Olympics and he mentioned that the team needed to have very specific intentions when it came to the types of big men they would target for the roster (via The Athletic):
“I think it’s a worthwhile point of discussion, but the discussion has to go to, ‘OK, then who is that?” […] “You can’t just say, we’re going to have size for size’s sake. You have to have players who are going to help you win, and you have to determine who those guys are. It’s not just the size, it’s the way the game is played. […] But I don’t think it’s as simple as saying it’s just size. I think you have to examine who you’re talking about if you go down that path.”
Of course, the first name that comes to mind is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. He could join the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped lead Team USA to win a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta after he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
The six-time All-Star is an international free agent who is eligible to play for Team Cameroon (after they clinched a spot to compete in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament) as well as Team France and Team USA.
Team USA managing director Grant Hill said Embiid “knows our desire” to have him on the team. According to Brian Windhorst, however, it’s too early to assume that the league’s reigning MVP will decide to actually suit up for the Americans at the 2024 Olympics in Paris (via ESPN):
“Team USA has done some recruiting of Joel Embiid, who holds both United States and French citizenship, but the Philadelphia 76ers star has thus far been noncommittal.”
So if Team USA is not able to successfully recruit Embiid, here are the other top options that they could consider:
SGA finished with a 38.79 Global Rating, per @hoopshype
The 2023 FIBA World Cup concluded with Germany earning the gold medal with its win over Serbia in the final on Sunday.
In the bronze medal game played prior, Canada concluded its best World Cup run by beating the United States, 127-118, in overtime.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied a neat bow on his sizzling summer campaign with his best FIBA performance. He finished with 31 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in the win, including the first seven points scored in OT.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s FIBA run landed him on its All-Star 5 lineup, which features the five best players throughout the international tournament. In eight games, he averaged 24.5 points on 54.5% shooting, 6.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds.
The 25-year-old also graded out as the best World Cup player, per HoopsHype’s Global Rating system. He finished the competition with a 38.79 rating. For comparison, Luka Doncic was second with a 34.77 rating.
A full explanation of how a player’s Global Rating is calculated can be found here. In layman’s terms, box score stats are assigned a value and then are added up for a single number. Games and minutes played are also factored into the equation.
The Thunder’s starting backcourt won a pair of accomplishments for their 2023 FIBA World Cup play.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, winners were announced for several individual awards.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the All-Star 5 lineup as one of the best five players in the international tournament.
His backcourt partner also was the recipient of an award despite not qualifying for the quarterfinals. Josh Giddey was named the Wanda Rising Star of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
In five games, Giddey averaged 19.4 points, six assists and five rebounds. He was the face of Australia’s run.
The 20-year-old is entering his third season in the NBA. A successful FIBA campaign this summer could play a pivotal role in his development.
SGA continues to earn awards during his career year.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to enjoy the best stretch of his career with a memorable 2023 FIBA World Cup run.
The 25-year-old was the face of Canada’s greatest run ever. It finished third following a 127-118 overtime win against the United States in the bronze medal game.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and 12 assists in the win, including seven points in overtime. This put a bow on an impressive run for Canada as he established himself as arguably the best FIBA player.
In eight games, he averaged 24.5 points on 54.5% shooting, 6.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds. His impressive run was rewarded with an All-Star team berth.
Following Germany’s win, FIBA announced its All-Star 5 starting lineup, which featured the best players during the World Cup. Gilgeous-Alexander made the team as one of the guards,
The All-Star 5 lineup was:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Dennis Schroder
Anthony Edwards
Luka Doncic
Bogdan Bogdanovic
This is another accolade of a long list of accolades Gilgeous-Alexander can add for this year.
Here are the best photos from Canada’s 127-118 OT win over the United States to finish in 3rd place for the 2023 FIBA World Cup:
Despite not advancing to the finals, Canada concluded its impressive summer campaign with a third-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Canada escaped the comeback by the United States in its 127-118 overtime win to finish with bronze medals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was excellent for Canada in its nine-point win. He finished with 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting, 12 assists and six rebounds. Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Lu Dort also played an important role with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Let’s look at some of the best photos from Canada’s OT win as it finished third in the final World Cup standings.
SGA saved his best FIBA performance for last as he leads Canada to a 3rd-place finish with an OT win against the United States.
Creating space on the stepback, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a pivotal 3-pointer to put Canada up by five points.
He served a bit of revenge on Mikal Bridges by making him bite and slip on the stepback.
After hitting a late go-ahead midrange bucket to give Canada a two-point lead with 34.6 seconds left, Bridges stole Gilgeous-Alexander’s potential game-winner and he hit a ridiculous 3-pointer following a missed free throw to force overtime.
No harm, no foul though. Gilgeous-Alexander was phenomenal in overtime as Canada defeated the United States, 127-118. The win gave Canada third place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, its best finish in event history.
After leading 91-82 after three quarters, Canada’s lead slowly slipped away as the United States erased what had been a 13-point deficit at its largest.
It felt like the United States used all its juice just to simply force overtime because it looked fatigued in the final five minutes. In anti-climatic fashion, Canada won the OT period 16-7.
It appears not playing in the finals didn’t leave a sour taste in Gilgeous-Alexander’s mouth. He was arguably the best player on the court that featured several prominent NBA players.
In 40 minutes, he had 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting, 12 assists and six rebounds. He also went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. He led Canada to the win with seven points in OT — tying the USA’s total point production in the extra five minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander concluded his summer campaign with his best performance yet and was the face of Canada’s best FIBA World Cup run in program history.
Lu Dort also played an important role in Canada’s impressive win. In 32 minutes off the bench, he had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He was part of its closing lineup and played the fourth-most minutes.
Let’s look at instant reactions and highlights from Canada’s nine-point overtime win.
Davis Bertans and Latvia concluded their 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign No. 5 in the final standings.
After a surprising run that saw them finish a 3-pointer shy of playing in the semifinals, Latvia played its final game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Saturday.
In the 5-6 classification game, Latvia blew out Lithuania, 98-63. The lopsided win places Latvia No. 5 in the final World Cup standings.
Latvia was able to play in this game due to its win against Italy in its first classification game.
Latvia got off to a strong start as it led 28-20 after one quarter. It went into halftime with a 49-30 lead. The third quarter essentially ended this game as Latvia outscored Lithuania 28-9 to make it a 77-47 game heading into the final frame.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Davis Bertans was limited in his final game of the summer for Latvia. In 25 minutes, he had five points on 2-of-5 shooting, six rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-4 from 3.
Let’s look at instant reactions and highlights from Latvia’s 35-point win.
Broadcast information for Sunday’s 2023 FIBA World Cup Canada vs. United States 3rd-place game:
The 2023 FIBA World Cup concludes on Sunday, Sept. 10 in a Germany vs. Serbia finals. The latter advanced to the finals with a surprising win against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Canada.
Serbia did an excellent job at limiting Gilgeous-Alexander to 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting in its semifinals game.
After Canada licks its wound, it’ll play for the bronze medal against the United States. Fans wanted a matchup against both of these teams, but they likely envisioned it’d be for the gold medal instead of the No. 3 place in the final standings.
Let’s look at broadcast information and start times for Sunday’s 2023 FIBA World Cup third-place game.
Team USA has some big decisions to make coming soon.
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And just like that, folks, the FIBA World Cup is over for Team USA.
Well, technically it’s not over, I guess. They can still play for a bronze medal at the very least. They’ll have to face Canada to get it and, if they win, they’ll still end up on the podium.
But let’s keep it a buck. We don’t care about anything but the gold when it comes to these sorts of competitions. A bronze medal would feel like a glorified participation trophy at this point. That’s unfair, but that’s the way it is.
Regardless of where they fall in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it’s very clear that some changes need to be made to this roster for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
So the question is now what? Where do we go from here?
Everyone seems ready to break the emergency glass and pull out the A-team from the NBA. I’m talking Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum. All of the players we’ve seen putting up numbers on the biggest stages in the NBA. Surely, there’d have to be some improvement, right? These are some of the greatest players of all time.
But I’m here to tell you that that’s not necessarily the easiest choice in the world.
Team USA’s biggest problem was a lack of chemistry and continuity. The team brought over a bunch of first-time players who’d never played in the program at this level before in an attempt to get a gold medal.
They were more talented than teams like Germany and Lithuania, but they didn’t know exactly how to play together to be the best team possible. That matters in international competition. That’s the point Noah Lyles (hilariously and ridiculously) tried to make.
Bring in those big names and some of the players on this roster lose out on valuable experience. Keep the big names home and there’s a chance you’re outclassed by a team with better talent. After all, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more will be playing for their home countries in 2024.
Grant Hill, Steve Kerr and Team USA have a tough choice to make. Surely, names like Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges, Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves have earned another shot at this. And no team is guaranteed to win, no matter what the talent level is.
But it’s hard to imagine a world in which someone tells LeBron James to stay home. The same with some of those other big names, too. So we’ll have to wait and see.
Regardless, this loss just made things a lot more interesting for 2024.
Embiid to the rescue?
Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
There is one star potentially on the table for Team USA that could completely flip things around. It’s Joel Embiid.
Yes, Embiid is Cameroonian. But the NBA’s MVP also holds citizenship in both France and the United States. He has the option to play for either country in the 2024 Olympic Games. Both sides have been quietly recruiting him, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“One of the biggest dramas in international basketball, for example, will play out in the coming months as current Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid considers whether he will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both the U.S. and France — Embiid holds citizenship in both and hasn’t yet picked — have quietly made pitches to try to secure him for the Olympics. Embiid is not playing in the World Cup this summer because he’s getting married in July.”
Embiid hasn’t made a decision on whether he’s actually playing or not — he could just simply sit out. But, if he does play, where he chooses to go will completely shift international basketball.
Once Embiid makes a choice and plays for whichever team he chooses, he’s tied to that country in international competition for the rest of his career, per FIBA rules. So if he chooses to play for France, he’s playing for France forever. The same goes for the USA. Whatever choice he makes will give an international basketball powerhouse one of the best players in the world for, at least, the next couple of Olympic cycles. That’s a huge deal.
Grant Hill needs to get on his Draymond Green and make that parking lot call. Embiid could change everything for Team USA.
The last time we chatted, we went over how incredibly close the WNBA standings are. Now, with just five days left until the playoffs on September 13th, all but one of the eight playoff spots have been claimed.
Here’s a look at the standings now. All teams that are locked in for the playoffs are in bold.
Las Vegas Aces (32-6)
New York Liberty (32-7)
Connecticut Sun (26-12)
Dallas Wings (20-18)
Minnesota Lynx (19-19)
Atlanta Dream (18-20)
Washington Mystics (18-20)
Chicago Sky (16-22)
Las Angeles Sparks (16-23)
The Sky and Sparks are battling it out for that eighth seed. The Sparks have the Seattle Storm (11-27) as the only team left on their schedule. The Sky have two playoff opponents in the Lynx and the Sun left on theirs in that order. Chicago owns the tiebreaker here.
