FIBA World Cup

Ozymandias

Ozymandias

All-Star
It's Aug. 25-Sept. 10 in Manila.

Team USA Just announced the 12-man LOADED roster it's sending

Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic),
Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets),
Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks),
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves),
Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers),
Josh Hart (Knicks),
Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans),
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies),
Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets),
Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz),
Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks)
Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)

Hard not to notice that we've got the 3 Villanova players here, Brunson, Bridges and Hart.. Surely it's gonna be something they talk about a lot on the broadcasts, only really missing Donte DiVicienzo.

This events gonna be a lot of fun. there will be so many legit rosters, very interested to see how they progressed over the years, should be a good show.

Cape Verde qualified for this event... How cool is that?! Thats a nation with less than 600k people living in it! I just looked it up, theres 15 counties within California with more people than Cape Verde in it... kinda insane when you think of it.. Latvia makes its first appearance at this tourney too along with South Sudan and Georgia.


No Kings playing but thats cool with me.. I saw the Paul George injury live.. I saw what affect Dante Exum's injury at an event like this had on his career.. Let em rest.. though Fox and Anthony Edwards in the same backcourt would be top tier entertainment..
 
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Surprising it's Georgias first time they have always had a NBA player or two and solid players all over Europe, also Tavares I'm assuming carried Cape Verde hard. Will be interesting to see what the rosters are coming up my ideal Serbia squad would be

C: Jokic/Mulitinov
PF: Summer League Jovic/Petrusev/Simanic (Beli to old and Poku is hurt)
SF: Lucic/Kalanic
SG: Bogdanovic/Marinkovic/
PG: Micic/Nedovic/Avramovic


I don't think Jokic/Jovic will play I don't think Simanic will be picked (he's the best fit next to Jokic imo but def not the most talented player at PF), If Jokic does not play I hope they just go full youth movement.
 
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Ozymandias said:
It's Aug. 25-Sept. 10 in Manila.

Team USA Just announced the 12-man LOADED roster it's sending

Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic),
Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets),
Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks),
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves),
Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers),
Josh Hart (Knicks),
Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans),
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies),
Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets),
Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz),
Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks)
Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)
Click to expand...
I don't know how "loaded" I think that roster is but, if they get enough practice time, they should be able to win the tournament; I can't see anyone other than Serbia (is Lithuania still good?) giving them problems.

Hard not to notice that we've got the 3 Villanova players here, Brunson, Bridges and Hart.
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It's not that hard to notice, especially if you didn't know where Mikal Bridges went to school. The only reason why I know where Brunson and Hart went to school is because they made a big deal about them being college teammates when Hart got traded to the Knicks.
 
Ozymandias said:
It's Aug. 25-Sept. 10 in Manila.

Team USA Just announced the 12-man LOADED roster it's sending
Click to expand...
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
I don't know how "loaded" I think that roster is but, if they get enough practice time, they should be able to win the tournament; I can't see anyone other than Serbia (is Lithuania still good?) giving them problems.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the first thing I thought when I saw the roster definitely was NOT "Boy, this roster is LOADED. We're going to dominate".

BUT, as @Mr. S£im Citrus stated, it is still a roster that, with enough practice, should be able to win the tournament.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
I don't know how "loaded" I think that roster is but, if they get enough practice time, they should be able to win the tournament; I can't see anyone other than Serbia (is Lithuania still good?) giving them problems.


It's not that hard to notice, especially if you didn't know where Mikal Bridges went to school. The only reason why I know where Brunson and Hart went to school is because they made a big deal about them being college teammates when Hart got traded to the Knicks.
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Spain has been like god tier dominant in every single age group/international tournament for like the past 5 years like similar to USA levels of domination. Spain/USA are favourties imo.
 
serbiangoat said:
Spain has been like god tier dominant in every single age group/international tournament for like the past 5 years like similar to USA levels of domination. Spain/USA are favourties imo.
Click to expand...
I'll take your word for it; every Spanish player I've ever heard of is washed and/or retired.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
I don't know how "loaded" I think that roster is but, if they get enough practice time, they should be able to win the tournament; I can't see anyone other than Serbia (is Lithuania still good?) giving them problems.


It's not that hard to notice, especially if you didn't know where Mikal Bridges went to school. The only reason why I know where Brunson and Hart went to school is because they made a big deal about them being college teammates when Hart got traded to the Knicks.
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THats a Billion Dollar roster, They will earn BILLIONS on just contracts alone.....Some of those players will earn near a BILLION by themselves BEFORE THEY TURN 30.

The Rules in the NBA are in place so rosters that LOADED dont get assembled... Look at the contracts those players warrantr..

My goodness the lack of context is so scary sometimes...

Practice time is totally overrated at this level of ball too... Ask Steve Kerr, he'll tell ya, n these players, NBA players from all different teams, practice with each other all offseason anyways, every offseason... To be a professional basketball player is to be in a perpetual state of practice.. So I kinda laugh at your whole notion, these arent high school kids, these arent college kids, these are the best of the best.. These other teams can practice all they want, isnt gonna help them stop Banchero on the block, or Edwards once he's got a step, or Ingram on an island on the perimeter.

QWERTYLICIOUS said:
Yeah, the first thing I thought when I saw the roster definitely was NOT "Boy, this roster is LOADED. We're going to dominate".

BUT, as @Mr. S£im Citrus stated, it is still a roster that, with enough practice, should be able to win the tournament.
Click to expand...



Does Paolo Banchero not qualify as some Major Headliner? Cuz for me he sure does... N hey ask Italy what they think...
 
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serbiangoat said:
Spain has been like god tier dominant in every single age group/international tournament for like the past 5 years like similar to USA levels of domination. Spain/USA are favourties imo.
Click to expand...
USA is by-far and away the biggest favorite in this tournament, then everyone else has an outside shot. Betting against Team USA in this tournament is a very bad idea.

Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikael Bridges, Paolo Banchero, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Edwards...

I'm sorry but Spain has a bunch of NOBODIES on its team compared to those guys... I'd genuinely think Serbia has a better chance to place than Spain tbh..
 
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The type of people who thought Connor McGreggor was gonna beat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, I'd imagine are the same ones who think Team USA didnt send a loaded roster to this event..


"Nobody roots for Goliath" - Wilt Chamberlain..

I get that, but lets not act as if Team USA isn't Goliath going into this.. I mean check the odds, are those not the odds of a completely overwhelming favorite, so much so that the fields chances are greatly diminished? Sure looks like that to me
 
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LPKingsFan said:
That team really could use Trey Lyles.
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Very true, would've been most excellent for us Kentucky fans.. But Shai AND Jamal Murray in the same backcourt? Thats insane!

and without Lyles we might get to see more Zach Edey with and against a bunch of NBA players, which is gonna be a spectacle. We'll see how Olynyk performs.
 
Ozymandias said:
USA is by-far and away the biggest favorite in this tournament, then everyone else has an outside shot. Betting against Team USA in this tournament is a very bad idea.

Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikael Bridges, Paolo Banchero, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Edwards...

I'm sorry but Spain has a bunch of NOBODIES on its team compared to those guys... I'd genuinely think Serbia has a better chance to place than Spain tbh..
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I agree but the team Spain had for the Euro's was not very good imo and they still won, they just win for whatever reason and I think a lot of the players on Team USA are somewhat inexperienced when it comes to FIBA, should they win hell yeah but in a one game elimination format that team could lose to Spain (assuming they have a solid squad), France, Canada and Serbia (assuming Jokic/Micic/Bogdanovic play) yeah I could see it.
 
Ozymandias said:
THats a Billion Dollar roster, They will earn BILLIONS on just contracts alone.....Some of those players will earn near a BILLION by themselves BEFORE THEY TURN 30.
Click to expand...
First of All™, no they won't. They'll probably earn over a billion combined on contracts alone; they're not going to earn multiple billions on contracts alone**. Second of All, literally none of them will earn "near a BILLION by themselves BEFORE THEY TURN 30," not even if you're playing some kind of semantic games with the definition of "near a billion." You're not going to get close to a billion without multiple super-max contracts plus endorsements. Only five of the players on that roster will even be eligible for a super-max before they turn thirty; only two of them are good enough to actually get one, and none of them will have actually played out that super-max (meaning that they would actually have all that money) before they turn 30.

Only two players in NBA history has ever become billionaires: only a handful of others have ever come close, and the thing they all had in common is that they were all crossover megastars, that not only got paid a ton in BRI, but also made hundreds of millions in endorsements and other investments. You'll never get there just being good at basketball: you're got to be Michael Jordan/LeBron James/Magic Johnson/Shaquille O'Neal-levels of famous, in order to approach the billionaires club. There's not a single player on that roster who's going to sniff that level of crossover appeal. To even get close to a billion without being a megastar, you'd have to sign multiple super-max contracts, and I don't think that anybody on that roster is that good.

** I make this statement with the caveat that I don't know how changes to the salary cap will affect max contracts in the future. I am making my declarations based on what the max salaries are right now.



Practice time is totally overrated at this level of ball too... Ask Steve Kerr, he'll tell ya, n these players, NBA players from all different teams, practice with each other all offseason anyways, every offseason... To be a professional basketball player is to be in a perpetual state of practice.. So I kinda laugh at your whole notion, these arent high school kids, these arent college kids, these are the best of the best..
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Right, right, practice time is totally overrated at this level. So is chemistry, so is cohesion. That's why USAB is undefeated since they started using NBA players.

:: holds hand to ear ::

Wait a minute, I'm getting Breaking News... It appears as though USAB is not, in fact, undefeated since they started using NBA players... I am also being told that a USAB roster of all NBA players finished in seventh place in the most recent FIBA World Cup. Literally the worst finish by USAB in a World Cup appearance, with or without NBA players. But you're right, I'm sure that Steve Kerr, who was the lead assistant coach on that seventh-place team, would agree with you.

These other teams can practice all they want, isnt gonna help them stop Banchero on the block, or Edwards once he's got a step, or Ingram on an island on the perimeter.
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You know why Paolo Banchero isn't featured as part of the nightly Big Man report? He played nine times as many minutes at small forward as he did at center. I watched him play a few times early on in the season, and this is an example of what I found. In fact, I just spent a good half hour watching Banchero highlights on NBA.com, because I thought maybe I was being unfair to the kid. I took a random sample of games from this past season: he posted up four times in ten games, and I decided I'd seen enough. And the only one he had multiple post-ups against was a team that had no real center (Oklahoma City).

Paolo Banchero is not a Big Man, he is a Tall Man. He gets his paint points largely on moves attacking the rim from the perimeter, not with his back to the basket. He's no threat on the block, nobody on this team is.


Does Paolo Banchero not qualify as some Major Headliner? Cuz for me he sure does... N hey ask Italy what they think...
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No, absolutely not. I don't think that the kid is going to suck, but I don't think that, as a Number One Overall pick, that he's going to be good in the way that LeBron James is good. I don't even think that he's going to be good in the way that Anthony Edwards is good. I think, compared to other NOO picks, Banchero is going to be good in the way that Glenn Robinson was good. I don't think he'll ever be the best player on a title contender; I'll be surprised if he even ends up being the best player on a playoff team. "Major Headliner?" Definitely not.
 
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No Jokic or Micic for Serbia or their two best wings from Europe I''m going to assume the team will be

C: Milutinov/Petrusev
PF: Jovic/Poku.Smailagic or Simanic
SF: Guduric?/Davidovac or Dobric
SG: Bogdanovic/Marinkovic
PG: Nedovic/Avramovic/Stefan Jovic (or they might take Topic for him to gain experience)

Unless Bogi goes nuclear that team will probably make it to the first round of the knockout stages
 
Getting beat by a Team Japan squad that doesn't even have Rui on its roster is not a great look for Finland, which had by far the best player on the floor in Lauri (who got outplayed by WSU legend Josh Hawkinson).

Also Yuki Kawamura played with big Celtics-era IT energy. Dude's so tiny, he's going to get absolutely destroyed on defense 150% of the time but he still got whatever he wanted on offense. Dude's probably too small to make it to the NBA like he's been vocally dreaming of but he certainly balled tonight.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695807296440307828
https://twitter.com/x/status/1695805708992913559
 

It's only been two games so this probably qualifies as another instance of wishful thinking on my part because I love defensive role-players...

But Rondae Hollis-Jefferson getting buckets in the FIBA World Cup is an interesting development. He was already an NBA caliber defender -- maybe not quite stopper level but certainly above average for a wing. He's out of the league right now since he couldn't score enough to keep himself on the floor. I hope he keeps this up and works his way onto an NBA roster next season.
 
Lithuania looking better without Domas and Jonas on the floor at the same time clogging things up like at Eurobasket.
 
Tetsujin said:
That’s what happens when the only big guy on their roster was Walker Kessler
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They also consistently went on Reaves. IDK about using a guy who was the beneficiary of questionable calls from the NBA in an attempt to get the Lakers into the playoffs as a representative of the best USA has to offer. Surely we have another Plumlee stashed away somewhere.
 
Tetsujin said:
That’s what happens when the only big guy on their roster was Walker Kessler
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From the parts that I watched, missed the 1st Q, Jonas V abused Kessler to the point WK didn’t return into the game. JJJ was actually decent defending and patrolling the paint but foul trouble became an issue.

Also, just thought there was a lot of iso ball although Anthony Edwards was going well in the second half, it does make Haliburton somehwhat ineffective. Thought Portia was solid but Lith just made everything
 
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