Five things we learned from the 2023 FIBA World Cup

The FIBA World Cup concluded on Sunday with Canada taking home its first medal in program history after defeating the United States in the bronze-medal game. Meanwhile, Germany beat Serbia to claim its first gold medal at the event.

After defeating Canada and the USA, the two European sides proved that success in international hoops comes down to a lot more than NBA talent. But that’s not the only thing that happened at the World Cup. From massive upsets to breakout stars, to questions about one program and answers about another, this year’s tournament had everything you could ask for. 

Here are five things we learned from the 2023 FIBA World Cup:

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a bonafide superstar (with MVP potential)

Look, we already knew that Gilgeous-Alexander was great. The 25-year-old, Hamilton, Ont., native came into the tournament after being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, a First-Team All-NBA member, and a top-five MVP candidate last season when he averaged 31.4 points — fourth-highest in the league. On top of that, he had 4.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 STOCKS (steals plus blocks) per game on a 62.6 true-shooting percentage to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 40-42 record. 

He was also one of the most clutch players in the league, placing seventh in Clutch Player of the Year award voting after scoring 128 points in the last five minutes of close games and hitting an array of big shots at the ends of games. 

But that was all in the regular season. If Gilgeous-Alexander’s résumé was missing anything, it was proof that he could carry a team when the stakes were high, after never having done it in the NBA playoffs. In fact, after getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs in 2019 with the Los Angeles Clippers and in 2020 with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander lost to his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season’s play-in tournament. Of course, context matters, and Gilgeous-Alexander has never had a strong supporting cast around him. But he still lacked marquee wins at the highest level on his résumé. Until now. 

Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada to the bronze medal and its first Olympic berth in 24 years after averaging 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals and just 1.4 turnovers per game. He made big plays on both ends of the floor when his team needed it most, propelling Canada to come-from-behind victories against France, Latvia, Spain and Slovenia — outscoring each of those teams in at least one quarter by himself. 

Former Canada captain Steve Nash said: “He’s got it, right?” And there is no longer a doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander is a bonafide superstar with MVP potential. The fact he became the first Canadian ever named to a World Cup All-Tournament team is just further evidence of that.

2. Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are primed for big years

Anthony Edwards has gotten a lot of attention from his performance at the World Cup, and rightfully so. The Timberwolves guard averaged 18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals as Team USA’s primary option, despite being one of the youngest players on the team at age 22. He looked to be in great shape as he used his size and athleticism to muck things up at the defensive end — where he showed sustained flashes of being an elite on-ball defender — while he also shot the ball at a high rate, hitting 57 per cent of his twos and 31 per cent of his threes. 

But with all the attention Edwards got, Tyrese Haliburton’s performance slipped through the cracks. Perhaps it was because Haliburton came off the bench behind Jalen Brunson, averaging just 21.5 minutes per game. Or because Haliburton doesn’t necessarily hunt his own shot, averaging just 5.9 field-goal attempts per game. But Haliburton was arguably Team USA’s most important player, changing the game every time he came onto the court with his exciting style of play as he pushed the tempo and got his teammates involved with an enthusiasm that makes it looks fun to play with him. In fact, despite also being just 23 years old, Halliburton was easily America’s best passer, averaging 5.6 assists to just 1.5 turnovers in addition to 8.6 points and three rebounds per game. Plus, his three-point shot looked good as he hit 17 of his 36 threes. 

Team USA will be disappointed to have lost to Lithuania, Germany, and Canada in the competition, but the Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers should both be extremely excited about their franchise cornerstones going forward. However, for USA Basketball, that excitement should be tempered…

3. USA Basketball might no longer have the recipe for success 

There has been a lot of hand-wringing about Team USA and whether or not it should be disappointed with a fourth-place finish in the World Cup. After all, the program decided to bring a young developmental team to the competition rather than recruiting their best veteran players. Plus, instead of asking for a long-term commitment or holding tryouts like Canada did in its training camp, USA Basketball simply brought 12 players together and asked them each to play a defined role on the team. 

The strategy looked brilliant early on as USA beat powerhouses like Germany and Spain in exhibition games ahead of the tournament. However, a group-stage loss to Lithuania highlighted some of the holes on the roster — including their glaring lack of size and physicality. Finally, an elimination loss to Germany in the semifinal in which USA gave up 113 points showed that no matter how much talent you have in international basketball, overcoming an older and more experienced team that got a long-term commitment from its players like Germany did is not as simple as it once was. 

“The game has been globalized over the last 30 years or so. These games are difficult. This is not 1992 anymore,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the loss. “And so, players are better all over the world. Teams are better. It’s not easy to win a World Cup or an Olympic Games.”

The problem, aside from the fact that Team USA went home without a medal, is that it was alarmingly close to going home without an Olympic berth, too — which also nearly happened to the program at the 2019 World Cup, when the U.S. placed seventh. Team USA ended up on the favourable side of the bracket and with a cake-walk path to the semifinals due to its No. 2 world ranking and because players in its group (like Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo) did not participate. But after losing its only three games against legitimate competition, USA Basketball should be asking themselves questions about its current formula. After all, as much of a disappointment as it is to place fourth at the World Cup, it would be a whole lot more concerning if the Americans were to miss out on the Olympic Games altogether with another disappointing performance at a future World Cup. 

4. Serbia might be the best team in the world in a best-on-best competition 

Eight teams have qualified for the 2024 Olympics, including Team USA, Canada, Serbia, Germany, South Sudan, Japan, Australia and France (host). The Games should be exciting given that it could legitimately be a best-on-best international basketball competition, with everyone showing up to represent their countries in Paris. And while it has been a given for several decades now that Team USA will win gold if they bring their best players, that is no longer the case. 

After all, how could it be when Serbia just won silver at the World Cup despite being without its best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. And — close your eyes American readers — Jokic isn’t just the best player in the world: he’s in a tier above any American player right now with the notable exception of Steph Curry, who hasn’t played for USA Basketball since 2014 and is going to be 36 years old by the time the Olympics roll around. Serbia also has a legitimate secondary star in Bogdan Bogdanovic, who averaged 19 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.6 steals on 52/42/85 shooting splits in the World Cup. 

Team USA could bring its ‘A’ team to Paris and still have an extremely difficult time against the Serbias and maybe even Canadas of the world. That’s not to say America doesn’t still have the deepest pool of basketball talent in the world — it does. But because it doesn’t prioritize learning the international game or have a culture of playing together year after year, the Americans could be susceptible to losing in the Olympics for the first time since 2004 — the result of which was USA Basketball appointing Mike Krzyzewski as the new head coach and requiring a three-year commitment from its players. 

5. African hoops are growing, evidenced by South Sudan’s Olympic bid

While Germany and Serbia met in the final, Europe was not the only continent that made waves at the World Cup. After all, the five African nations in the competition — Angola, South Sudan, Cape Verde, Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire — all picked up one victory in the group stage, compared to just three wins for African nations in the 2019 World Cup group stage. 

South Sudan won twice more in the classification round, claiming Africa’s automatic berth into the 2024 Olympics. It’s an amazing story considering South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world after gaining its independence just 12 years ago and, as a self-funded entity, was practising on outdoor courts as recently as three years ago. The team entered its first World Cup ever as the the 62nd ranked squad in the world, second-lowest in the 32-field competition. And, after picking up wins against China, Angola and the Philippines, it proved that African hoops are on the rise. 

This has been a long time coming and is due to a variety of factors, including the NBA’s investment into the continent with the NBA Academy Africa and the NBA-backed Basketball Africa League (BAL), as well as non-profit organizations like Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri’s Giants of Africa, which has been organizing basketball camps for boys and girls throughout Africa since 2003 and is in the process of building 100 new courts throughout the continent. 

“It’s an unbelievable story. It’s an underdog story that, not just for the South Sudanese, not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world,” former NBA All-Star and program president Luol Deng said after South Sudan won the Olympic bid. “It’s a feel-good story that majority of people can relate to. It’s such a unique achievement because it’s beyond basketball.”