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5 NBA players who played well in FIBA warm-up games this week

By Andrew Bernucca

Apr 7, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) waves to the crowd as he walks off the court after the Mavericks loss to the Chicago Bulls at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) waves to the crowd as he walks off the court after the Mavericks loss to the Chicago Bulls at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports) /

The 2023 FIBA World Cup starts in less than two weeks. Teams are playing warm-up games and NBA players are flashing their skills. Here are five NBA players who had strong performances this week.

The FIBA World Cup starts on Aug. 25 and so far, most of the news coverage about the tournament has been about players who won’t be participating.

Look, it would obviously be a better product with the likes of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Victor Wembanyama participating but their absence doesn’t mean we are now completely bereft of quality basketball.

Luka Doncic, Bogan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder and plenty of other NBA players are still participating and with Team USA being among the countries not sending their best, the path to the gold medal is wide open.

This past week, we got a taste of teams ramping up their intensity levels in warm-up games, particularly in matches where both sides featured quality NBA players. Expect to see more of the same as we get closer to the beginning of the actual tournament.

This level of intensity brought out quality performances, here are the best of the week from NBA players.

Was Luka Doncic so tired after his dominant performance against Montenegro that he had to sit out the game versus Team USA?

Luka Doncic primarily made headlines this week based on his decision to sit out and rest for Slovenia’s warm-up game against Team USA. Without him, Slovenia struggled significantly and was comfortably annihilated 92-62 by Team USA.

But, Luka did play to start the week against Montenegro and posted his second triple-double of the summer with 34 points, 14 assists, and 13 rebounds in a 104-100 victory.

Doncic seems to be in great shape, and he clearly plans on making a serious run for the gold medal with Slovenia this summer.

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