After our broad review of the workforce, which aimed to outline a hierarchy before the World Cup, we offer you a Top 15 players to follow in the competition.
Whether it’s their talent, their importance for their team, or their current situation, these players have a great chance of shining for their nation!
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Luka Doncic (2m01, 24 years old, Dallas Mavericks, Slovenia)
Star of the promotional clip shot by FIBA ahead of the competition, Luka Doncic is undoubtedly the face of this World Cup.
The Slovenian Mavs superstar is, at 24, at the top of his game. Better, he comes out of a summer when he took particular care of his body and worked on the land, not to relive the disappointments of recent years, in Dallas as with his national team.
Basketball factory capable of winning his team almost single-handedly, with 24 points and more than 9 rebounds and 9 assists on average at the Tokyo Olympics, Luka Doncic masters and dominates the FIBA game like few players. He even seems to take pleasure in showing that this is the style of play that ultimately suits him best.
Anthony Edwards (1m93, 22 years old, Minnesota Timberwolves, USA)
For any NBA superstar with aspirations of becoming a legend in his sport, like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James before him (among others), a summer with Team USA is what the trip to Italy was for. painters from the 16th century. A must.
In the case of Anthony Edwards, things are starting to take a turn for the better, after the 21-year-old Wolves fullback had already panicked against Germany, with 14 of his 34 points in the last quarter to overturn the Mannschaft, or 21 points against Greece in another success. It’s quite simple: Anthony Edwards finished as his team’s top scorer four times out of five!
Explosive and physical at will, he is THE leader of the American team, according to his coach, Steve Kerr. A confession shared by all Team USA players in unison. Neo-All Star this season, “Ant” is about to write a crucial chapter in his young career. It cannot be written otherwise than in gold letters…
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1m98, 25 years old, OKC Thunder, Canada)
Also All-Star, the Canadian leader of the Thunder has certainly already worn the tunic of his national team, but it was brief! It was during qualifying for the World Cup recently. He had been pretty convincing with 26 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.
But, for its first major official competition, SGA will take up a great challenge, that of leading a team very rich in individual talents, but with very little collective experience. In preparation, his team competed with the best, beating Germany and Spain back to back, with 22 points and 8 rebounds from SGA in Granada.
A natural leader for a toothy Canada, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t be afraid to take the big shots late in the game. He will have the opportunity to write a new page in the history of Canadian basketball, following the Nash era, virgin of international medal.
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Karl-Anthony Towns (2m13, 27 years old, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dominican Republic)
It’s the ghost of this World Cup! More seen in the national tunic for almost ten years, Karl-Anthony Towns is clearly the best recruit of the summer for the Dominican Republic.
The Wolves All-Star interior is an offensive monster averaging 23 points, 11 rebounds in eight NBA seasons. It will be very interesting to see how much he will be able to influence the game of his team, and especially the victories.
At 20 points to beat Canada, and again at 20 units in the loss against Spain, Karl-Anthony Towns has the opportunity to replenish the pill at this World Cup, after a last NBA campaign rotten by the injuries, and with his role at Wolves increasingly discussed…
Lauri Markkanen (2m08, 26 years old, Utah Jazz, Finland)
Superbly dominating during the last Euro, with 28 points and 8 rebounds on average (at infernal success rates: 54-40-90), including this dantesque round of 16 at 43 points to get Croatia out, it is an understatement to say that Lauri Markkanen likes to play for his country!
On this formidable dynamic, the strong winger had his best career season in Utah, synonymous with a first All Star cap but also the trophy for best progress (ahead of SGA and Jalen Brunson).
Atomic offensive weapon in the FIBA game with his mix of size, speed and skill, the “Finnisher” will still be formidable with his pack of long-toothed wolves!
Franz Wagner (2m08, 21 years old, Orlando Magic, Germany)
Recently opposed to his Magic teammate, Paolo Banchero, in a daunting match against Team USA, a defeat for him, Franz Wagner is undoubtedly the rising star of German basketball. It was no coincidence that Franz’s arrival in selection resulted in an average of 15 points and 4 rebounds per game, and a first international medal since 2005!
Elegant and ultra-complete scorer, the youngest of Moritz, who returns to selection with his brother this summer, delivered a superb performance against the Americans, with a double-double at 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Capable of punishing defenses from both distance and up close, the young Orlando winger will be particularly difficult to hold off with his combination of shooting and size.
Josh Giddey (2m00, 20, OKC Thunder, Australia)
A tall playmaker, Josh Giddey doesn’t often seem to push, or even touch, like a Dejan Bodiroga of the heyday. But, as is often the case in the NBA this season, the young Australian is making headway with each of his appearances on the boards!
Against Venezuela, he completed the match very close to the triple-double with 14 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Against the Blues, he was also very good, behind the victorious return of the Boomers with his 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
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Evan Fournier (2m00, 30 years old, New York Knicks, France)
He had been rather discreet at the start of the preparation, the fault of a small scare in the ankle in particular, but he warmed the wrist against Australia, with 29 points in all, including 12 in the first quarter, at 11/14 on shots including 4/5 from 3-pointers.
Revengeful after a season of chomping at the bit on the Knicks bench, the veteran back is hungry for the ball!
However, we know that Evan Fournier has tricolor blood, and hot blood! In the past, the rear of Charenton has proven that he likes to transcend himself in international competitions. Reassembled as it is this summer…
Walter Tavares (2m20, 31 years old, Real Madrid, Cape Verde)
Double European champion with Real Madrid, and even MVP of the last Final Four, Walter Tavares is definitely in the best of his long career.
Passed several times by the NBA, and the D-League at the time, the Cape Verdean giant effectively allowed his native island to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in its history!
Cape Verde is the smallest country qualified in the competition, but with the tallest player in the competition. Dominant in the Euroleague for several years already, he is often an impassable wall in the paint with his ability to control the airspace.
Jordan Clarkson (1m98, 31 years old, Utah Jazz, Philippines)
A Filipino international since 2018, Jordan Clarkson has since demonstrated his attachment to his mother’s nation, returning to the charge for World Cup qualifying, with 25 points per game. Best sixth man in the League in 2021, he is now a starter at Jazz following the departures of Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell.
An unpredictable serial scorer, Jordan Clarkson is also a real star for the Filipino nation, which loves the orange ball. Above all, he will have free rein in his team’s very free attack.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (1m96, 31 years old, Atlanta Hawks, Serbia)
Absent during the last Euro due to a knee injury, Bogdan Bogdanovic is indeed there this year for the World Cup. An event that he particularly appreciates, with a beautiful silver medal in 2014, and a remarkable performance during the 2019 edition, the competition’s top scorer with an average of 23 points.
Deprived of a medal for a while, i.e. 2017, Serbia is clearly not the favorite, but its players will be all the more motivated since they are not expected to be so high.
As for Bogdan Bogdanovic, the “horde leader”, it’s a tailor-made role for him who also wants to regain responsibilities after several seasons of playing “role players” in the Great League.
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Goga Bitadze (2m11, 24 years old, Orlando Magic, Georgia)
Anonymous or almost in the NBA after four seasons at 5 points on average, Goga Bitadze arrives in this World Cup with a knife between his teeth.
Transferred during the season from Indiana where he was not playing behind Myles Turner, to Orlando where he was entitled to a few bits of playing time, the Georgian giant has a golden opportunity to show what he is capable of in Okinawa , in Japan.
A rather mobile and skilful pivot, Goga Bitadze showed great things against Montenegro (21 points at 9/9 on shots) and against Australia (20 points).
Simone Fontecchio (2m03, 27 years old, Utah Jazz, Italy)
Among the ten best scorers of the last Euro, and before that at the Tokyo Olympics, Simone Fontecchio is already a regular at major events.
Having since started his NBA career with Jazz, rather discreetly, he will not hide his pleasure in finding a good batch of ticket shoots within the Squaddra Azzurra! As recently proven by his 26 points to beat Brazil (93-87).
Shooting artist in a team capable, in a match, of blasting any defense, the former Vitoria scorer will clearly be one of the key assets of his team of old veterans who love “champagne basketball”!
Santi Aldama (2m13, 22 years old, Memphis Grizzlies, Spain)
If his teammate Usman Garuba, freshly released by the Thunder announced that he was going to prove them wrong, Santi Aldama also has a good scarecrow head. In a team that continues to surprise year after year…
Excellent against Slovenia in preparation, with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the end, the interior of the Grizzlies will discover great international competition, after having clearly passed a milestone this year in the NBA. He should be able to show all his recent progress on the international scene, which he has already known among young people with a gold medal at the Euro under 18… and an MVP title!
You should also know that the father, Santiago Aldama, was already playing under the colors of La Roja, during the legendary Barcelona Games in this case!
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Khaman Maluach (2m14, 16 years old, NBA Africa Academy, South Sudan)
MVP of the youth camp organized by the NBA, Basketball Without Borders, this year, Khaman Maluach is the young prospect to follow on this World Cup. Eligible for the NBA Draft only in 2025, the Sudanese giant is one of those “very great” who arrive at the high level with more and more agility and technical ease.
Still very young and therefore very rough, he nevertheless showed some flashes of his genius, with a nice entry facing Australia For example. Pure product of the NBA Africa academy opened in Senegal since 2017, Khaman Maluach should obviously not inherit a leading role at this stage of his career, but his beginnings are nonetheless intriguing…
