FIBA World Cup Articles - Page 11

Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Joe Harris believes Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum was the best player on Team USA’s FIBA World Cup roster this past summer. Tatum only played in two games for Team USA because of a sprained ankle, missing both losses. The Celtics forward averaged 24.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in those […]

Miami Heat rising star Bam Adebayo didn’t make the Team USA FIBA World Cup roster this past summer, and it may have been a good thing. Adebayo says losing out on a roster spot to Brook Lopez and Miles Plumlee left a “bigger chip on my shoulder,” via Marc Stein of The New York Times: […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted to feeling caged during the recent 2019 FIBA World Cup, as the Milwaukee Bucks star felt the stark difference in playing styles upon rejoining his NBA team this past week. “Playing with FIBA I was like a prisoner,” the reigning MVP said about his tough experience in China, according to John Askounis […]

Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum says playing for Team USA this summer helped build his confidence as a basketball player. By all accounts, Tatum has been one of the most impressive players in Celtics training camp thus far. In Boston’s preseason opener against the Charlotte Hornets, Tatum showed off his growth by pouring in […]

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine says USA Basketball reached out to him about playing in the FIBA World Cup this summer after multiple players withdrew. While LaVine appreciated the gesture and wanted to play, he opted not to since he was dealing with an ankle injury: https://twitter.com/markstrot/status/1179832683310006273 Zach LaVine ultimately made the right decision. […]

Khris Middleton was one of the players tapped by Team USA to play in the FIBA World Cup when almost every NBA superstar said no to the team. Unfortunately, the squad didn’t perform up to expected standards, finishing in seventh place. Now that almost the entire NBA wants to be on Team USA for the […]

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo showed a distinct disappointment after witnessing the wave of withdrawals from consideration for the recent FIBA 2019 World Cup and a subsequent enthusiastic desire from players to be considered for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It didn’t take long for NBA stars to quickly throw their name into the […]

Team USA placed a lowly seventh in this year’s FIBA World Cup after numerous stars backed out of participation. Team USA was still the favorite entering the tournament, but most believe the poor showing was because of the weakened roster. However, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James doesn’t buy that narrative. The three-time NBA champ […]

Australia center Andrew Bogut berated the officials following their elimination from FIBA World Cup at the hands of Spain. After a few weeks, FIBA has finally decided to take action and gave Bogut a disciplinary notification for his tirade, per Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia. Inbox: Basketball Australia says that Andrew Bogut has received […]

Klay Thompson was forced to watch Team USA’s quest for gold at the 2019 FIBA World Cup from home, after tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and needing surgery to follow. While others with much healthier summers turned down the option to play with Team USA, Thompson admitted it was tough […]

Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter says he was rooting for Team USA to beat Turkey in the FIBA World Cup. USA won by a final score of 93-92 in overtime. Kanter was rooting for the Americans because four of his new Celtics teammates — Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart — […]

Team USA has managed to keep its longtime spot as the best team in the world in the updated FIBA rankings despite a disappointing seventh-place finish in the recent 2019 World Cup, according to The Associated Press. The Americans lost to France in the quarterfinals and then Serbia in the consolation bracket, only salvaging a […]

Marc Gasol has enjoyed a successful summer, to say the least. In June, the 34-year-old center won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors, besting the Golden State Warriors in 4-2 fashion. Then, over the last couple of weeks, Gasol took part in the FIBA World Cup, where he and the Spanish side earned the […]

Team USA’s seventh-place finish in the 2019 FIBA World Cup is bound to be a thorn in the side of USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo, who noted this underwhelming performance in competition will bother him until next year’s Olympics: “There has not been any disappointment around USA Basketball in a while,” Colangelo told Chris […]

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills awkwardly found out he missed out on his inclusion in the All-Star Five of the 2019 FIBA World Cup after being told by the Australian Basketball Federation that he had made the team. Mills was Australia’s leading scorer, finishing the tournament with averages of 22.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and […]

Kobe Bryant congratulated new Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio on winning the Most Valuable Player award during the FIBA World Cup after a convincing 20-point win over Argentina. The former NBA and Team USA legend sang the praise for the Spanish floor general, who has looked starkly different in international competition. Amazing final. Well […]

Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier is proud of what France has accomplished in the FIBA World Cup. France’s men’s national basketball team finished with the bronze medal in the recently concluded international tournament after beating Australia 67-59. The win also allowed them to book a ticket to the 2020 Olympics, which will be held in […]

Team USA had a disappointing stint in the recently concluded FIBA World Cup in China. They finished seventh in the overall rankings, which was far from the podium finish that fans had hoped and expected from them. Still, Team USA forward and Sacramento Kings vet Harrison Barnes believes they have nothing to be ashamed of. […]

Andrew Bogut is set to be investigated after his comments suggesting that Spain was favored by game officials in their victory against Australia in the FIBA World Cup semifinals. The Aussies lost to Spain 95-88 in a game that needed two overtimes. During the said contest, Bogut was seen rubbing his fingers in a money […]

Marc Gasol has done just about everything on the international stage. After winning the 2019 FIBA World Cup gold medal, Gasol has multiple World Cup titles and a pair of Olympic silver medals as a member of Spain. The one thing he does not have is an Olympic gold medal. With the 2020 Olympics in […]

Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker was supposed to be the leader and the star for a young Team USA roster at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. This summer marked Walker’s first opportunity to prove himself with Team USA on the international stage. However, while he played well for much of the tournament, he and […]

Ricky Rubio has been silencing his critics on the international stage since he was a teenage phenom playing for Spain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. On Sunday, Rubio culminated a fantastic performance at the 2019 FIBA World Cup by winning the gold medal and being named the MVP of the competition after Spain defeated […]

Safe to say that Marc Gasol has already had a tremendous 2019. After being traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Toronto Raptors in February, Gasol became a key cog of the first championship roster in Raptors history. On Sunday morning, Gasol compounded his success on the international stage, winning the FIBA World Cup final […]

The 2019 FIBA World Cup did not quite go as expected for Team USA. Before the competition even began, marquee stars like Anthony Davis and James Harden declared that they would not be participating in an effort to rest their bodies and prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season. Just days before being selected for the […]

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert obviously wanted to win the gold medal for France in this year’s FIBA World Cup. Instead, they had to settle with bronze after defeating Australia in the battle for third. Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, Gobert admitted that bagging the bronze medal still means the world to him, […]

Spain capped off an undefeated 8-0 run at the 2019 FIBA World Cup by beating Argentina 95-75 to win the gold medal. Ricky Rubio led the way for the Spaniards, pouring in 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Rubio was named World Cup MVP for his efforts. Marc Gasol […]

New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina and France just bagged the bronze medal after dropping Australia in their battle for third on Sunday at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The French came back to win 67-59 to cap off a successful tournament. France got major contributions from a number of players throughout the tournament, including […]

Two of Argentina’s all-time greats on the basketball court, Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola, shared a warm embrace after the country’s national team advanced to the 2019 FIBA World Cup title game with an 80-66 victory over France on Friday. Knowing the importance of the moment for Argentina, Ginobili rushed from his seat near courtside […]

Former NBA big man Luc Longley fired off some unfiltered comments following Friday’s 95-88 loss to Spain at this year’s FIBA World Cup. As part of his postgame interview, Longley, who serves as an assistant coach with Australia, claimed that Spain has been favored in some way by the basketball gods: “Spain gets kissed on […]

Argentina just booked their place in the final match of the FIBA World Cup after convincingly defeating France, 80-66, on Friday. The fairy tale continues for the South American side, and one former national squad player is absolutely ecstatic about his nation’s recent accomplishment. Retired Argentina veteran Manu Ginobili took to Twitter to share his […]

Following Spain’s 95-88 victory against Australia in the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup, Toronto Raptors big man Marc Gasol is in a unique position to potentially hold the NBA title and the World Cup trophy simultaneously. When asked about this prospect, the 34-year-old veteran admitted that it is indeed a tremendous opportunity for him, […]

Team USA is in the midst of a shocking losing streak at the FIBA World Cup, first losing to France in the quarterfinals and then falling to Serbia. This is the first time the men’s basketball team will not be winning an award at a major competition since 2002. Pundits and fans expressed their disappointment […]

Before Team USA lost to Serbia on Thursday, head coach Gregg Popovich had a funny interaction with Serbia’s Sasha Djordjevic. Team USA and Serbia were considered the big favorites to face each other in the World Cup Final. However, both teams underwhelmed in the tournament and faced each other in the classification round instead. Popovich, […]

Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris believe a struggling Team USA should have invited Carmelo Anthony to take part in the FIBA World Cup. The four-time Olympian and three-time gold-medal-winner hoped that USA Basketball would still have a spot available for him as a storied leading scorer, but the organization turned it down swiftly, appreciating […]

Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura played extremely well for Japan at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and Steve Kerr has taken notice. Japan entered this year’s FIBA tournament with a No. 48 world ranking, which was among the lowest in the competition. Despite that fact, Hachimura’s exciting level of play brought a spotlight to the […]

It was a night to remember for Sacramento Kings shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic as he led Serbia to a famous victory against Team USA in the FIBA World Cup tournament on Thursday. Bogdanovic caught fire in this one, torching the Americans for a game-high 28 points (on 10-of-17 shooting), seven three-pointers (!), four rebounds, and […]

For the first time since 2002, Team USA has lost two consecutive games at the FIBA World Cup. To some basketball aficionados, this was an expected result for the American side, as the team was without several of its regular NBA stars. For Donovan Mitchell, though, losing two in a row comes with a sharp […]

Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner has taken to Twitter to broadcast his utter disdain for all the negativity that is currently being thrown in the direction of Team USA following consecutive defeats against France and Serbia in the FIBA World Cup. In a series of emotional tweets, the 23-year-old did not hold back in […]

Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio took to Twitter on Wednesday morning, expressing his excitement to play for the Spain at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo: … hello #Tokyo2020 🙃 — Ricky Rubio (@rickyrubio9) September 11, 2019 Rubio and Spain qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games by reaching the semifinal round and securing an […]