Super Mario is Back
After a day one full of fast-break slams and frighteningly accurate Kobe impressions, Super Mario returned with some more highlight reel material before he and his fellow Croatians fell short against Greece. This time, however, his vineability came from his effort on the defensive end, serving as a reminder that even when Hez shoots 3-10, he can always find ways to finagle his way into a Vine or two.
Nemanja Bjelica is a bad, cold-blooded man
Bjelica, who you might’ve heard of as “the other Wolves rookie who might be decent at basketball,” followed up a 24-point, 10-rebound Day One showing by setting the world (read: Basketball Twitter) on fire yet again. The 6-foot-10 Serbian erased an otherwise tough day at the office with a baseline drive for a teardrop as time expired, giving Serbia the win over Germany.
Batum goes the dynamite
An NBA dynasty’s offense has been tailored around the ability of Tony Parker and his teammates to set each other up for shots, so it’s only right that Parker does the same with his French connections. He found Hornets forward Nic Batum streaking backdoor for a vicious alley-oop en route to France’s 27-point annihilation of the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team.
Croatian Sensation
Passing doesn’t require eyes. Just ask Dario Saric, who found Ante Tomic diving to the rim while looking at, quite literally, anything but Tomic.
Gobert or Go Home
France’s rooting of Bosnia and Herzegovina wasn’t just a Parker-Batum show. Rudy Gobert got in on the (absurdly vineable) action, cutting for a monster two-handed reverse slam courtesy of Boris Diaw.
Oh, and of course he blocked shots, because that’s what Rudy Gobert does and you should think twice about crossing him next time.