World Cup of Basketball Primer

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Unbeknownst to John Q. Public (and his wife Jane C. Public), the biggest basketball tournament in the world for the next couple years is set to take place in just under a month’s time. Unlike this summer’s FIFA World Cup, there hasn’t been a huge #BecauseBaloncesto marketing campaign featuring supermodels and fans from around the world, so it’s safe to say the casual sports fan may have no idea the FIBA World Cup of Basketball is just around the corner. The United States squad will kick off group stage play on Saturday, August 30th, and while superstars like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul won’t be taking part, there are more than enough reasons to tune in.

The best reason to watch is to see the second-best player in the world, Kevin Durant, terrorize opponents in an international brand of basketball he’s even more lethal in than the NBA version of the game. With the three point line at 22’2″, as opposed to the 23’9″ distance in the NBA, Durant becomes even more deadly from the perimeter. He also has an easier time playing power forward because of the relative lack of girth at that position overseas, and can therefore use his quickness to greater effect against opposing defenders. Durant won MVP honors in the 2010 tournament, averaging 22.8 ppg, and we should expect an even more polished performance at this stage of his career.

Of course, there are plenty of other stars to watch besides Durant as other locks for the team include Steph Curry, James Harden, Paul George, and Anthony Davis. Davis, in particular, would appear to be the one guy who could really break out into the public consciousness during this tournament, especially with the relative lack of big men on the US squad following the recent withdraws of Kevin Love and Blake Griffin. It’s likely that DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond will both make the 12-man roster, if nothing else just to add some size to the back line.

After that, we have an intriguing point guard battle behind Curry, with Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Derrick Rose, and John Wall all at camp. It’s highly unlikely Coach K would keep 5 point guards (he might not even retain 4), so Wall would seem to be the odd man out given he’s not the above average threat from behind the arc that some of the others are (with three-point shooting simply an added necessity in the international game). By all accounts, Rose has been fully healthy in camp, but we’ll see if the guys making decisions conclude that they can trust him to remain that way over the course of the tournament.

For the remaining roster spots, Klay Thompson is the only other guy I would more or less consider a sure thing to make the team. The other players fighting for perhaps just one roster space include Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward, Bradley Beal, DeMar DeRozan, and Kenneth Faried. The club could decide to go with Millsap if they need another big forward, Parsons if they determine he has the ability to play stretch four within the international game, or Korver if they just want the added shooting. The roster construction is an intriguing subplot in the lead-up to the tournament and we’ll have to see how things shake out.

If you’ll allow me one quick Sixers-related tangent, Michael Carter-Williams was invited to USA team camp to play with the USA Select team that practices against Team USA. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete while recovering from his recent shoulder surgery. His non-participation is really regrettable for a couple reasons. Not only would playing against the best competition America has to offer for a couple weeks be a great boost for the Rookie of the Year’s game, but these are the situations where league stars forge friendships with each other, and building such relationships could maybe have lured some free agents to Philadelphia down the road. (OK, tangent over, thanks.)

During group stage play, the United States will play Finland, Turkey, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, and Ukraine. However, none of those teams are expected to pose much of a threat to the red, white, and blue. Plus, 4 of 6 teams from each group advance to the Round of 16 knockout stage anyway, so there’s very little drama associated with the group stage under the current format. What folks are really anticipating though, is a potential meeting between the US and host-notion Spain, which would likely take place in the title game in Madrid on September 14th.

Spain gave the United States a run for their money in two highly-contested gold medal contests during the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Basketball purists have considered those title bouts some of the most aesthetically pleasing games to watch in recent memory. The Spanish feature a deep squad with the Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka (although he is recovering from a calf injury), Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, and a host of other NBA players both past and present, in additional to top Spanish international stars. With the talent to compete with the US, and the support of a rabid home fan base behind them, a title contest featuring Spain would likely be another game to remember. So get pumped for the World Cup of Basketball: it’s like the soccer World Cup, but with a sport most Americans already like!