The FIBA World Cup is just over a week away from tipping off, with Australia in action on Friday against Finland while a heavyweight clash pins Canada against France.
While some big names will not be available for the tournament there will still be plenty of NBA players taking part.
Here, foxsports.com.au gives the rundown on which current NBA players will be suiting up and which ones have already ruled themselves out.
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Group A
The Dominican Republic will be headlined by Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, who has plenty of motivation as he plays for the national team for the first time in 10 years.
Towns gets his Dominican heritage from his late mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in 2020 from coronavirus complications.
Honouring her memory and his heritage is just one of the reasons that the All-NBA big man felt this was the right time to suit up for the Dominican Republic.
Getting some playing time before the upcoming 2023-24 NBA campaign also factored into his decision, having struggled at times after returning from a calf injury for Minnesota last season.
“There was a lot that went into the decision,” Towns told ESPN earlier this week.
“The timing is right. I didn’t put as much stress on my body this last season because of the injury. I’m feeling great now, I’m 100% and feeling like myself again.
“It’s a perfect time to work on some things in my game. And with my mom’s passing, I felt an urgency to do it.”
Meanwhile, undrafted sophomore guard Lester Quinones will also join Anthony-Towns as the only other NBA player on the Dominican Republic squad.
The 22-year-old impressed for the Golden State Warriors in this year’s Summer League, leading the team in scoring after a rookie season that saw him play just four games.
Italy is the favourite to come out of Group A, with Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio coming off his rookie season where he averaged 6.3 points 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists.
Fontecchio though has proven himself more than capable of stepping up on the international stage, averaging 19.4 points per game to finish as Italy’s leading scorer at last year’s EuroBasket.
Jazz teammate Jordan Clarkson, meanwhile, is the only NBA representative suiting up for the Philippines, who are one of three co-hosts for the World Cup.
Angola is yet to announce their roster.
Group B
There is no Nikola Jokic for Serbia, with the reigning NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP taking a well-earned break from basketball.
“With Jokic, we had several conversations, and I must say they were some of the best conversations I’ve had with players who couldn’t make it to the roster,” Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic said in July, according to MozzartSport.
“He’s physically and mentally exhausted, not feeling ready to take responsibility at the moment.”
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Even without the Denver Nuggets superstar, Serbia are favourites to progress from Group B and have plenty of NBA experience to lean on in Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, Oklahoma City’s Aleksej Pokusevski, Miami’s Nikola Jovic and Philadelphia’s Filip Petrusev.
Vasilije Micic will also be sitting out for Serbia though as he prepares for his debut season in the NBA, having signed a three-year contract worth $23.5 million with Oklahoma City.
“As for Micic, we had lengthy discussions, and he requested to skip this year. After a long season, dealing with injuries and signing with Oklahoma, he was unfortunate to sustain a shoulder injury during his stay there, and now he’s recovering,” Pesic said.
Elsewhere, South Sudan is yet to announce their roster for the World Cup while Puerto Rico has no current NBA players, with Jose Alvardo unavailable.
The Pelicans guard suffered a stress reaction in his right tibia that brought his 2022-23 season to an early end and is still not right to compete.
“The tibia injury in his right leg delayed his recovery this summer. His team performed an MRI last week and saw that his injury has not fully healed,” Puerto Rico’s general manager Carlos Arroyo said.
Minnesota’s Kyle Anderson is the only NBA player suiting up for China after the 29-year-old forward obtained Chinese citizenship through naturalisation in late July.
Anderson has been learning some Chinese while his teammates have been also learning some English to try and better build a bond within the playing group.
Group C
United States is of course the overwhelming favourite to come out of this group and take out the entire tournament despite being without a number of NBA superstars.
No members of the Tokyo Olympics squad will be playing in the FIBA World Cup while some of the NBA’s other biggest names have their focus on Paris next year.
There were some notable omissions too, with Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young left out of the team as the likes of Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Tyrese Haliburton got the nod instead.
While the United States line-up may not be as strong as it could theoretically be, that in itself does present an opportunity for other countries to potentially challenge for the crown.
It also has sparked debate within basketball circles as to whether this team will live up to its high expectations ahead of the tournament. Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas definitely doesn’t seem to think they will.
“You see that list they got, sorry-ass group,” Arenas said last week on his podcast.
“I’m sorry. I’m happy for the people who make it, it’s cool for some of the guys who got there, some of them probably don’t even start on their teams, I don’t know, I don’t want to look at it.”
Arenas was speaking in the broader context of Young missing on selection and reports suggesting concerns with his fit in the team were behind the Hawks star being left out.
This is still a team stacked with NBA experience, including young rising Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero, breakout Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges and the more experienced Brandon Ingram.
Rounding out the team is Josh Hart, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cameron Johnson, Walker Kessler and Bobby Portis.
Elsewhere, Greece will be represented by Milwaukee’s Thanasis Antetokounmpo but brother Giannis will not be suiting up.
“Since the conclusion of my NBA season, I have been pushing my body to the limits to be the player I need to be to help our team achieve the goals we set,” Antetokounmpo wrote earlier this month.
“But after months of work and multiple meetings with medical staff, it is clear that I am not ready to compete at the level that I need to be to participate in the World Cup. This was not a choice, but my only option in ensuring I get back to the level of basketball I have worked so hard to achieve so far in my career.
“I am extremely disappointed in this outcome, but this was a decision made with the medical staff. … My personal and our ultimate team goal is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics Games, and it will be an honour to represent my National Team next year.”
Also in Group C is New Zealand, who do not have any NBA players with Memphis Grizzlies centre Steven Adams left out due to injury concerns while Jordan is yet to announce their roster.
“We were having good and productive conversations with Steven earlier and he was considering a lot of things,” Tall Blacks coach Pero Cameron said.
“But he suffered a pretty serious knee injury. We just wish him all the best to get back on his feet and for playing again in his next NBA season.”
Adams went down with a knee sprain in January and despite optimism that he could eventually return, the Memphis big man ended up missing the regular season and playoffs.
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Group D
Lithuania are the favourites to come out of this group, boasting the most NBA experience with New Orleans Pelicans big man Jonas Valanciunas and Philadelphia’s Azuolas Tubelis.
They will be without All-Star Domantas Sabonis though, with the Sacramento Kings forward ruled out of the tournament as he focuses on his “contract and health” according to coach Kazys Maksvytis.
It comes after Sabonis underwent surgery on his right thumb this offseason.
Elsewhere, Montenegro will bring plenty of size to the World Cup including Chicago Bulls star Nikola Vucevic.
Egypt and Mexico are the other two teams in this group, although neither have any NBA players on the roster.
Group E
Australia has named one of their most talented squads in recent memory even without former first overall pick Ben Simmons and still have to cut one player before the World Cup.
There is a perfect mix of youth and experience in their 13-man squad, led by breakout Oklahoma City guard Josh Giddey along with Boomers heroes Patty Mills and Joe Ingles.
Adding plenty of versatility to Brian Goorjian’s squad are Dyson Daniels, Xavier Cooks, Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle among others.
Dante Exum, meanwhile, is back in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks and back in the green and gold as he looks to back up a strong showing at the Tokyo Olympics.
Elsewhere, Jock Landale and Jack White add some much-needed size and were on the move this offseason, joining the Rockets and Thunder respectively.
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The biggest challenge for the Boomers comes in the form of a star-studded Germany team, headlined by Toronto’s Dennis Schroder as well as Orlando rising star Franz Wagner, brother Moritz and Indiana’s Daniel Theis.
Meanwhile, Phoenix free agency addition Yuta Watanabe will suit up for Japan while breakout Jazz star Lauri Markkanen leads the charge for Finland to round out Group E.
Japan will be without Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, who withdrew from the World Cup to “give priority” to his future NBA career.
“It was a very difficult decision to make, but after last season and the long playoffs, I decided to give priority to my future NBA career,” Hachimura said.
Group F
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will lead Slovenia, looking to build on a successful Tokyo Olympics campaign where they went down to Australia in the bronze medal game.
NBA veteran Goran Dragic won’t be playing alongside him though, confirming in June that he would be sitting out the World Cup.
“I’ll be at home,” Dragic told Bojan Brezovac from MozzartSport.
“I’m not going to play. I had enough. I played for 16 years [for the national team], plus the NBA and everything else. Maybe I will go to Japan to support the national team, but I will hardly play.”
Elsewhere, Georgia will be playing in their first FIBA World Cup with a team featuring European league stars and NBA talents, including Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (San Antonio Spurs)
Cape Verde and Venezuela are the other two teams in this group. Neither have any active NBA players on their roster.
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Group G
Spain, currently the No.1 ranked team in the world according to FIBA, will have plenty to play for as they look to build on recent success at the 2019 World Cup and EuroBasket 2022.
Spain were crowned winners at both tournaments and have two current NBA players in
Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies) and Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks).
There is plenty of NBA experience elsewhere too, with Willy and Juancho Hernangomez joined by Rudy Fernandez in the preliminary squad.
There is also one glaring omission, with guard Ricky Rubio recently announcing he would be taking a break from basketball to instead focus on his mental health.
“I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health,” Rubio said.
“I want to thank all the support I have received from the FEB to understand my decision. Today #LaFamilia makes more sense than ever. Thank you.”
Rubio was the 2019 World Cup MVP, with young guard Juan Nunez added to the squad after news the Cleveland Cavaliers veteran would not be participating.
Ex-Cavaliers teammate Raul Neto, who signed with Fenerbahçe Beko earlier this month, will suit up for Brazil alongside fellow past NBA players Marcelinho Huertas, Yago Mateus and Bruno Caboclo.
Cote d’Ivoire and Iran are the other two teams in the group and have no current NBA players.
Group H
Jamal Murray is the latest big name to pull out of the World Cup, with the championship-winning guard announcing the news on Wednesday night.
Murray had been participating in training camp with his Canada teammates but said that his body needs more time to recover after a gruelling run to NBA Finals glory with the Nuggets.
“When I came into training camp, I wanted to see how my body would respond after a long and demanding season and if I would be physically able to compete at the highest level required for the World Cup,” Murray said.
“In consultation with medical staff and the team, it’s clear that additional recovery is required and I have made the difficult decision to not participate in the tournament.
“It’s still a dream of mine to represent Canada at the Olympics and I will support the team every step of the way as they pursue this goal.”
This Canada team is still stacked with NBA talent, with Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading a squad that includes RJ Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Kelly Olynyk (Utah Jazz) and Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks).
Canada faces a stern test though in the form of a formidable France outfit, headlined by Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert and other NBA stars including the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum and Knicks’ Evan Fournier.
Free agent Frank Ntilikina, who was most recently with the Mavericks, is also part of France’s squad.
Rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama won’t be suiting up though as expected, with the French phenom instead putting all his focus into his first season at San Antonio.
“It would not be realistic in terms of development and not careful in terms of health,” Wembanyama said in an interview with L’Equipe.
“I hope people will understand. It’s frustrating for me too. The France team is still my focus. I want to win as many titles as possible with it. But I think it’s a necessary sacrifice.”
Latvia won’t have an easy introduction to their biggest tournament and while they have one NBA player in Davis Bertans, they will be without their best player in Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis is still yet to be cleared to play as he deals with plantar fasciitis over the summer.
“After several weeks of recovery and a repeat MRI examination, the plantar fasciitis of my foot still prevents me from being on the field in full readiness,” he wrote.
“This joint decision has been made by both the medical staff and coaching staff of the national team, as well as the Celtics team — with the advice and opinion that it is now necessary to continue the recovery process.”
Lebanon (no NBA players) is the other team in the group.
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