Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Record 55 NBA Players TO Compete In 2023 FIBA World Cup
A record 55 current NBA players are featured on national team rosters for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from Friday, Aug. 25 – Sunday, Sept. 10, up from 54 in 2019. The tournament will feature a record 106 combined current NBA players, NBA draftees, and players with NBA experience, up from 103 in 2019.
Twenty-seven of the 32 participating national teams have at least one current NBA player, NBA draftee or a player with NBA experience, and national team rosters include 10 former NBA All-Stars: Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves; USA), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder; Canada), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves; France), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers; USA), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans; USA), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies; USA), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves; Dominican Republic) and Nikola Vučević (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro).
Outside of the United States, which features a tournament-high 12 NBA players, Australia has the most current NBA players (nine), followed by Canada (seven) and Germany (four).
Additional NBA stats and storylines for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 include:
Twenty-four NBA teams are represented on national team rosters, with the Orlando Magic, Jazz, Thunder and Timberwolves each featuring a league-high five players in the tournament, while the New York Knicks and Mavericks each have four players in the tournament.
There are 54 players with NBA G League experience on national team rosters.
The tournament features 16 players who have participated over the first three seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), including 2023 BAL MVP Nuni Omot, who led Al Ahly (Egypt) to the 2023 BAL Championship after helping his native South Sudan qualify for the country’s first-ever appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The BAL is a professional league operated by the NBA and FIBA that features 12 club teams from across Africa and completed its third season in May 2023.
Australia National Team and former NBA Global Academy teammates Josh Giddey (Thunder) and Dyson Daniels (Pelicans), current NBA Academy Africa student-athlete Khaman Maluach (South Sudan), NBA Global Academy graduate Cui Yongxi (China) and NBA Academy Latin America participant Jean Montero (Dominican Republic) are poised to become the first current and former NBA Academy student-athletes to compete in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
There are 87 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) campers on national team rosters. BWB is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program that has been conducted annually since 2001 and has seen 112 former campers advance to the NBA or WNBA.
A total of 80 national teams across four regions – Africa, Americas, Europe and Asia (which includes Oceania) – competed in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
New this year, the NBA App and NBA.com will carry FIBA’s digital platform, “Courtside 1891,” allowing fans in 20 countries and territories to purchase the FIBA World Cup Pass and watch the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Beginning with the opening games on Aug. 25 and continuing through the Final on Sept. 10, Courtside 1891’s FIBA World Cup Pass will offer fans access to live and on-demand games, extended highlights and top plays. Courtside 1891’s FIBA World Cup Pass is available for purchase at NBA.com/WorldCup, and the complete game schedule is available at NBA.com/FIBA.
The following is a complete list of current NBA players on FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 rosters*:
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
