Spain are in for a tough battle when they defend their title here in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.
The Spaniards won the last tournament, which feels like a long time ago considering this competition is only held every four years. A lot has changed since then, except for their head coach and their desire to win.
Because they’re the top ranked nation in the world, the SBOTOP FIBA World Cup 2023 odds have them as one of the favourites to win it all.
However, that also means that they have a huge target on their backs, as the other 31 nations are not going to back down, and here are the teams who will give them a huge run for their money.
USA
Team USA are No. 2 in the FIBA rankings behind Spain, and they’re out for revenge. In 2019, they swept through to the group stage but eventually lost to France in the quarter-finals.
They finished seventh after losing to Serbia and winning against Poland in the classification rounds, their worst finish in this particular tournament in recent memory.
Steve Kerr, who is replacing his mentor Gregg Popovich, will try to guide the Stars and Stripes back to the promise land. He won’t have a star-studded squad like the teams we’re used to seeing in the past, but they should have enough to get it done.
A quick look at the FIBA World Cup 2023 updates will tell you that Team USA will have a young group, with Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Austin Reaves, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Alex Caruso, and Bobby Portis all joining the project.
With one roster spot left, Team USA might need to bring in another veteran, preferably a big man to guard the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
France
France would prefer to have Joel Embiid on their roster, whom they’ve been recruiting for the past few years. However, the reigning NBA MVP is unlikely to play at the August-September showcase because he’s getting married.
Still, France are going to be a dangerous team in this tournament because they have a great mix of youth and veteran talent, with the likes of Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum, and Victor Wembanyama – the consensus top overall pick for this summer’s NBA Draft – leading the way.
Other than the four players we just mentioned, opponents would have to look out for the likes of Killian Hayes, Theo Maledon, and Frank Ntilikina at the guard spot, while Vincent Poirier and Guerschon Yabusele further add muscle to their already massive frontline.
Serbia
Nikola Jokic, who is fresh from leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history, is expected to take over for Serbia once again.
The Nuggets center is capable of putting up monster numbers every game. And the amazing thing about him is that he’s not a one-dimensional player, despite his limited athleticism. Jokic almost averaged a triple-double this year with norms of 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game.
But Jokic won’t have to do it all alone, as backing him up are fellow NBA players Boban Marjanovic, Aleksej Pokusevski, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Nikola Jovic.
Canada
In 2019, the Maple Leafs didn’t qualify in the knockout rounds. But now they feel confident because they now have a group of NBA stars to call on.
Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett, and Bennedict Mathurin are some, just to name a few, although there’s no word of all of them committing to the national team just yet.
And they have Nick Nurse as their head coach, who happens to be the guy who guided the Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship in franchise history. At a bare minimum, Canada should be able to get out of their group.
Australia
The FIBA Asia region is going to be well represented because there’s Australia, which won a bronze medal in the previous edition of the World Cup.
The Boomers also have a healthy supply of NBA-calibre talent, with the likes of Josh Giddey, Jock Landale, Dyson Daniels, Matisse Thybulle, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles spearheading the charge.
But the x-factor for them is the availability of Ben Simmons, who recently expressed interest in playing again for the national team.
Simmons has had a tumultuous few years in the NBA, sitting out the entire 2021-22 season before playing only 42 games in the 2022-23 campaign.
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