FIBA Basketball World Cup Recap

This past Sunday, Germany defeated Serbia 83-77 to capture their first-ever gold medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. This is their only top 3 finish outside of 2002, when tournament MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, led them to a bronze medal.

Dennis Schröder took home tournament MVP averaging 19.1 points and 6.1 assists. The Toronto Raptors guard shot an abysmal 4-for-26 from the field, and 0-for-8 from deep in Germany’s quarter-finals win against Latvia, before shooting a combined 16-for-30 in the final two games including a 17-point outing to knock out Team USA in the semi-finals, and 28 in the championship.

The Orlando Magic’s rising star, Franz Wagner added 16.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to add to Germany’s efforts.

Serbia finished with the silver medal as Bogdan Bogdanović put on an efficiency clinic. The Atlanta Hawks wing averaged 19.1 points on 52.6% from the field and 42.3% from deep on 6.5 attempts per game.

Bogdanovic put up 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting to knock out Canada in the semi-finals, and 17 in the losing effort against Germany in the championship.

A talented Team Canada defeated Team USA 127-118 to take home bronze in an overtime thriller. Mikal Bridges of Team USA purposely missed his second free throw with 4.2 seconds left, got his own rebound, and hit a heavily contested game-tying three from the corner with 0.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Bridges’ 19 points, alongside 24 from star player Anthony Edwards, and 23 from Austin Reaves were not enough to compete with Dillon Brooks’ scorching 39-point performance, hitting seven threes on eight attempts. Canada’s leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added an efficient 31 and RJ Barrett put up 23.

Key USA players Jaren Jackson Jr. and Paolo Banchero missed the game due to illness.

This marks the second consecutive World Cup where Team USA has failed to take home a medal. Coach Steve Kerr has faced criticism for his small-ball approach, a style he’s developed and perfected with his Golden State Warriors over the years. Unfortunately, this didn’t work for Team USA as they were often out-rebounded, having only one true center on the roster in the Utah Jazz’s second-year center, Walker Kessler.

Kerr staggered minutes between Kessler and Jackson Jr., as well as using smaller guys like Bobby Portis and Banchero to man the painted area.

Immediately following the loss, fans took to social media to point fingers, asking for the return of superstars to Team USA.

Shortly after, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, reported that LeBron James has shown interest in suiting up for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

James is said to have reached out to several superstars including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Jayson Tatum and Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis.

Team USA has a history of underperforming at the FIBA World Cup, and then returning to prominence with revamped squads; most notably the 2008 “Redeem Team” spearheaded by a prime Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

This year’s World Cup continued to prove the expansive talent across the globe, from NBA and international players alike. NBA stars headlined the “All-Star 5” of the World Cup: Dennis Schröder (Germany), Bogdan Bogdanović (Serbia), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Anthony Edwards (USA) and Luka Dončić (Slovenia.)

The question now is whether Team USA will return to world dominance, or if track star Noah Lyles’ “world champion of what?” comment was right.

Nick LaRosa is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email njl5547@psu.edu