2023 FIBA World Cup Preview: Who will win the gold medal?
Group B: Kyle Anderson, Ethan Thompson, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Wenyen Gabriel will be trying to lead their countries to the next phase of play
China
Head Coach: Sasa Dordevic
NBA Players: Kyle Anderson
Other Notable Players: Zhou Qi, Wang Zhelin, Hu Jinqiu, and Son Minghui
Do we expect them to advance? Probably not, but they have a chance against Puerto Rico and South Sudan.
Why or why not? Most of their roster are stars from the Chinese Basketball Association, which likely isn’t enough but with Kyle Anderson becoming a naturalized citizen this summer they could go on a hot streak. Head coach Sasa Dordevic is very experienced and will make sure his team is not giving away easy points or possessions.
Puerto Rico
Head Coach: Nelson Colon
NBA Players: None
Other Notable Players: Jordan Howard, Ethan Thompson, John Holland, Aleem Ford, Justin Reyes, and George Conditt IV
Do we expect them to advance? Probably.
Why or why not? Their game against China on August 30th could be a classic. They probably prevail, but if China plays well or Puerto Rico plays poorly it could be the end of the road for them.
Serbia
Head Coach: Svetislav Pesic
NBA Players: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, and Filip Petrusev
Other Notable Players: Nikola Milutinov, Mark Guduric, Aleksa Avramovic, Ognjen Dobric, Stefan Jovic, Vanja Marinkovic, Alen Smailagic
Do we expect them to advance? Yes.
Why or why not? Sure, they’re missing Nikola Jokic and other NBA players but this team is still really solid. Pesic is a very good coach, Bogdanovic and Guduric are solid wing creators, they’ve got a lot of shooting, and Milutinov is arguably the best non-NBA center in the competition. They are probably the worst team that could knock out the United States with a disciplined approach and one of those games where the majority of Americans are saying “WHO EVEN IS THAT GUY??” following made open three-pointers.
South Sudan
Head Coach: Royal Ivey
NBA Players: Wenyen Gabriel
Other Notable Players: Marial Shayok, Carlik Jones
Do we expect them to advance? No.
Why or why not? There’s not nearly enough talent here, but it will be interesting to see if Ivey has anything up his sleeve as a head coach.