Tag: 2023 FIBA World Cup

Tim Bontemps: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘as good or better’ than Luka Doncic

“The Canadians enter this tournament arguably with the single best player in the entire field in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”

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Following a career season, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prepares to return to the court representing his home country.

Gilgeous-Alexander headlines Team Canada’s roster as it prepares to play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. If Canada wins the tournament, it’ll be because the 25-year-old was the best player on the court most nights.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, that isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Bontemps argued Gilgeous-Alexander has a strong case to be the best player participating in the international tournament, beating out fellow 2018 draft classmate Luke Doncic.

“The Canadians enter this tournament arguably with the single best player in the entire field in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,” Bontemps said. “He’s as good or better than Luka Doncic and anybody the American team has.”

The praise continues to flow for Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished No. 5 in MVP voting last season after averaging 31.4 points on 51% shooting. At just 25 years old, it’s fair to say he is in his prime and will continue to be one of the best players in the league for the foreseeable future.

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Team USA topped by USA Select Team in scrimmages ahead of 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Team USA got topped by the select team twice in practice!

Team USA will soon compete in this month’s FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the group has apparently already gotten a run for its money from the USA select team that’s there to help them practice.

On Friday, the USA select team (featuring guys like Cade Cunningham and Chet Holmgren) reportedly topped the regular team in two different 10-minute scrimmages, per AP

However, that might hint more to the talent of the young basketball players that competed for the select team than it does how the main US team will perform.

Per the AP, Team USA coach Steve Kerr noted that this happened back in 2019 while preparing for that World Cup tournament. AP also noted that these scrimmages are very much practice-oriented and featured a number of player combinations on the court. So it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for one team to top another and vice versa.

“That’s a time-honored tradition in USA Basketball,” Kerr told AP of the practice squad topping the main assembly.

The news organization pointed out that this even happened with the 1992 Dream Team.

That’s absolutely true, famously going back to the first time NBA players represented the country. It was the 1992 Dream Team, the group of basically the best players in the world at that time — Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson and more — playing a team of college kids in a closed scrimmage. The Dream Team lost, 62-54.

The future of Team USA on the world basketball stage looks bright, particularly when it’s the young guys who are contending just fine with the established veterans in practice.

Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams help US Select upset World Cup roster in scrimmages

Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams helped the US Select team beat the World Cup roster in Friday’s scrimmages.

If Friday’s scrimmages indicated anything for the long term, it was Team USA will be in good hands for the foreseeable future.

Preparing for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which starts on Aug. 25, the young Select team gave the main roster a run for its money.

USA Select, highlighted by Oklahoma City Thunder teammates Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williamsm reportedly defeated the World Cup team in two consecutive 10-minute scrimmages during their training camp in Las Vegas on Friday.

USA Select members will get a chance to serve as replacements for the World Cup roster before the start of the tournament. Considering how young the Select roster is, this likely serves as a sneak peek as to what the future Team USA roster will look like.

“When you have USA around your chest, it definitely means something more,” Williams said.

Williams and Holmgren are two of the Thunder’s pillars of their young core. Williams’ impressive rookie campaign resulted in his finishing second in Rookie of the Year balloting. Holmgren continues to build an impressive offseason after he missed the 2022-23 year rehabbing a foot injury,

“It definitely means a little bit more representing the country and I try to do so to the best of my abilities,” Holmgren said.

Usman Garuba talks about his fit with the OKC Thunder

Usman Garuba talked with @marca about his fit with the Thunder.

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One of the newest additions to the Oklahoma City Thunder roster was third-year center Usman Garuba.

After spending his first two seasons with the Houston Rockets, Garuba was acquired by the Thunder in a multi-player trade with the Atlanta Hawks. He will fight for a roster spot during training camp: He is near the bottom of the depth chart on OKC’s 21-player roster.

Practicing with Spain for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Garuba talked about being traded to the Thunder with Spain’s media outlet Marca’s Nacho Duke. In his interview, he talked about how much contact he’s had with the Thunder and what he expects during his time in OKC.

“They have told me that they trust me a lot, that they think I was not in the right situation in Houston and I agree with them,” Garuba said. “The Thunder are a team whose style of play can come in handy for me, and from the times I’ve played against them, I think I can benefit a lot from that system.”

Garuba also complimented the Thunder’s young core, mentioning how their style fits him.

“It is a young team, but they compete a lot,” Garuba said. “They have done it this season. I admire them a lot after having seen and played against them.”

Garuba was drafted 23rd in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft. In two seasons, he averaged 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds.

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Aleksej Pokusevski listed on Team Serbia’s roster; Vasilije Micic sits out FIBA World Cup

Serbia will have Aleksej Pokusevski but not Vasilije Micic on its FIBA World Cup roster.

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The 2023 FIBA World Cup will feature several Oklahoma City Thunder players. The latest addition to the list is Aleksej Pokusevski, who was listed on Team Serbia’s roster on Monday.

Notably, Vasilije Micic was not listed on the roster. He reportedly is opting out of the event to focus on transitioning to the Thunder. He signed a three-year deal with OKC this offseason.

Pokusevski has spent most of the offseason rehabbing a small right humerus fracture he suffered in June. It looks like the rehab process on his shoulder has gone smoothly; he was listed on Serbia’s roster.

The 2023 FIBA World Cup is scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10. The full Serbian roster can be viewed below:

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Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams expected to join Team USA’s training camp roster

Several Thunder players are expected to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder might have a vested interest in the 2023 FIBA World Cup because several of their players are likely to participate in the event.

This became even more evident when it was revealed Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams will join Team USA’s training camp roster, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Training camp is set to begin on Aug. 3 in Las Vegas. Holmgren and Williams will be part of the U.S. Select Team, which means they are allowed to travel with the team and serve as replacements in case anybody on the main roster drops out due to injury or other reasons.

Holmgren and Williams join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort as prominent Thunder players who will participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The latter pair were listed on Team Canada’s training camp roster.

The 2023 FIBA World Cup is scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort highlight Team Canada’s FIBA World Cup roster

The full training camp roster can be viewed here:

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Canada announced its 2023 FIBA World Cup training camp roster on Thursday with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort — unsurprisingly — highlighting the group.

Gilgeous-Alexander will represent his country after enjoying the best season of his young career thus far. In 68 games last season, he averaged 31.4 points on 51% shooting, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. The 25-year-old earned All-NBA first-team honors for the first time in his career.

The Oklahoma City Thunder duo joins several other NBA players on the 18-man extended roster. This includes Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The team will be coached by Jordi Fernandez, who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.

Training camp will last from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6. Team Canada will play five games in Germany and Spain from Aug. 9 to Aug. 18. The group stages of the FIBA World Cup are scheduled to begin on Aug. 25.

The full roster can be viewed below:

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Jaren Jackson Jr. to play for team USA in FIBA World Cup

Jaren Jackson Jr. will be playing for team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Upon the release of team USA’s roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup it has now became known that former Michigan State star Jaren Jackson Jr. will be playing for the United States in the tournament.

The tournament is set to begin on August 25th and will be hosted by the nations of Japan, Philippines and Indonesia.

The United States will be a part of Group C along with Greece, Jordan and New Zealand. All of the games will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.

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Josh Giddey headlines Australia’s 2023 FIBA World Cup roster

The full extended roster can be viewed here:

During exit interviews, several Oklahoma City Thunder players declared their intention to play for their home country in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

With the Thunder having several young international players, it only made sense most said they’d be interested in playing for their country. One of those was Josh Giddey, who just wrapped up an impressive sophomore campaign.

In 76 games, Giddey averaged 16.6 points on 48.2% shooting, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He also shot 32.5% from 3 on 3.1 attempts.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for my country on the biggest stage, and I think missing out on the Olympic team two years or last year was obviously tough,” Giddey said. “I wanted to be there with them. To see them win their first medal ever for Australian basketball was a great moment. This summer we’ve got as much talent as basketball has ever had in Australia, so I think it’s probably going to be the most realistic chance we ever had to win a gold medal at a big major event, so look forward to it.”

The 20-year-old headlines Team Australia’s extended roster, which was published on Sunday. Other active NBA players are:

  • Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels
  • Nets guard Patty Mills
  • Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle
  • Bucks forward Joe Ingles
  • Kings guard Matthew Dellavedova
  • Mavericks guard Josh Green
  • Wizard forward Xavier Cooks
  • Suns center Jock Landale

The full roster can be viewed below:

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The FIBA World Cup is scheduled to take place from Aug. 23 to Sept. 10 — right before the official start of the 2023-24 season.

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