MANILA (Philippines) - The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 has advanced to the Second Round with the top 16 teams. The 19th edition of the flagship event has provided some major storylines, which have also impacted the TISSOT MVP Ladder. Who are the new players in Volume II of the rankings and who is the new number 1?

France bowing out in the First Round had a major effect on the MVP Ladder as No. 2 in Volume I was Rudy Gobert. The French big man is one of three players who are out of rankings along with Finland's Lauri Markkanen, who was No. 9 and Italy's Simone Fontecchio, the former No. 10.

Just as a reminder. To determine the MVP Ladder order, we have evaluated the chances of each player to win the MVP. One main criterion is the player's team needs to have a shot to win the title - or at least grab a spot on the podium.

In 2002, Dirk Nowitzki was MVP of the competition with Germany winning bronze. Since then, the World Cup MVP was a player from the winning team. Because of this criterion, the TISSOT MVP Ladder is very different from the Top 30 players to watch at the World Cup.

So, here is Volume II of the MVP Ladder.

#12 - Nikola Vucevic - Montenegro - Center (+1)

Birth date: October 24, 1992 (32 years old)
Height: 2.08cm / 6ft 10in
Club: Chicago Bulls (USA)

Montenegro have reached the Second Round for the first time in history and Vucevic has played a major role in that - leading him to enter the rankings. He leads the team in scoring (20.7ppg), rebounds (7.0rpg), blocks (2.0bpg) and efficiency (26.3). Vucevic also is shooting 58 percent from the field and has not missed a single free throw yet.

#11 - Jonas Valanciunas - Lithuania - Center (+1)

Birth date: May 6, 1992 (31 years old)
Height: 2.11m / 6ft 11in
Club: New Orleans Pelicans (USA)

Lithuania were a perfect 3-0 in Group D play and a massive reason for that was the massive man in the middle. Valanciunas averaged a double-double of 13.7 points and 10.0 rebounds - 2.3 of those from the offensive glass - while also shooting 61 percent from the floor. Valanciunas' presence in the paint also helped Lithuania out-rebound their opponents by 17 boards per game.

#10 - Arturs Zagars - Latvia - Guard (+3)

Birth date: April 21, 2000 (23 years old)
Height: 1.90m / 6ft 3in
Club: Nevezis (LTU)

Debutants Latvia pulled the stunner of the World Cup so far by eliminating France and Les Bleus fans might be having nightmares of Zagars, who enters the MVP Ladder at No. 10. The guard torched France with 22 points and 5 assists and the 23-year-old is leading the team in assists at 6.7 per game while committing only 2.0 turnovers. He has averaged 12.3 points and made 39 percent from long range.

#9 - Austin Reaves - USA - Shooting Guard (+4)

Birth date: May 29, 1998 (25 years old)
Height: 1.96m / 6ft 5in
Club: Los Angeles Lakers (USA)

Reeves enters the MVP Ladder at No. 9 as he has been a jack of all trades for USA, scoring 11.7 points, grabbing 3.0 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 4.3 assists to go with 2.0 steals. All of that production has come in under 20 minutes per game. On top of that, Reaves, who has become a fan favorite in the Philippines, is shooting 56 percent from long range. 

#8 - Bogdan Bogdanovic - Serbia - Shooting Guard (-)

Birth date: August 18, 1992 (31 years old)
Height: 1.96m / 6ft 5in
Club: Atlanta Hawks (USA)

Coming into the tournament, fans expected Bogdanovic to really dominate, especially after he was the leading points scorer at the 2019 World Cup. The guard hasn't really disappointed though he is playing a real all-around game. Bogdanovic leads Serbia with 18.0 points while struggling a. bit from the floor at 44 percent, but he has also averaged 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.0 steals.

#7 - Josh Giddey - Australia - Guard (-)

Birth date: October 10, 2002 (20 years old)
Height: 2.00m / 6ft 7in
Club: Oklahoma City Thunder (USA)

Giddey looks ready to officially take over the Boomers leader role from Patty Mills as the 20-year-old has excelled for Australia thus far. He is co-leader in scoring alongside Mills at 19.0 points while also picking up 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 7.3 assists. If there is a weak point to Giddey's game in Okinawa it has been his long range shooting, where he is shooting just 22 percent on three-pointers.

#6 - Willy Hernangomez - Spain - Center (-)

Birth date: May 27, 1994 (29 years old)
Height: 2.09m / 6ft 10in
Club: Barcelona (Spain)

Willy has picked up where he left off at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, where he took home MVP honors. The big man leads Spain in scoring (17.3ppg) and is tied for the lead in rebounds (6.0rpg). He is also dishing out 1.7 assists per game. All the while, Hernangomez is also making 59 percent of his shots. If Spain end up standing atop the podium as repeat champs, Willy will be the main reason.

#5 - Karl-Anthony Towns - Dominican Republic - Power Forward (+6)

Birth date: November 15, 1995 (27 years old)
Height: 2.11m / 6ft 11in
Club: Minnesota Timberwolves (USA)

Dominican Republic grabbed top honors in Group A and Towns showed his leadership in many ways - making him the biggest mover. Whether it was making 15-of-16 free throws against Philippines to picking up 24 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists against Italy to struggling with free throws but helping with big plays late against Angola - Towns has been there for the Dominicans. 

#4 - Dennis Schroder - Germany - Point Guard (+1)

Birth date: September 15, 1993 (29 years old)
Height: 1.85m / 6ft 1in
Club: Toronto Raptors (USA/CAN)

Germany have given no reason why their status as darkhorse title contenders should change as they took first place in their group. And Schroder remains the man in charge on the court, leading the team in scoring (19.7ppg), assists (5.7apg), steals (2.0spg) and efficiency (20.7) while playing the most minutes (28mpg). On top of that, Schroder showed up biggest in the biggest game, scoring 30 points to go with 8 assists and 4 steals in the nail-biter win over Australia.

#3 - Anthony Edwards - USA - Shooting Guard (-2)

Birth date: August 5, 2001 (22 years old)
Height: 1.93m / 6ft 4in
Club: Minnesota Timberwolves (USA)

USA remain the favorites to win the competition but because of the depth of the Americans, Edwards slipped two spots from No. 1 to No. 3. But that is more because the two who passed him are needed more by their teams. Edwards is slowly showing his leadership skills in Manila, topping the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game and efficiency at 16.7. He also is picking up 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists for USA.

#2 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Canada - Guard (+1)

Birth date: July 12, 1998 (25 years old)
Height: 1.98m / 6ft 6in
Club: Oklahoma City Thunder (USA)

Canada have lived up to their lofty expectations and Gilgeous-Alexander has lived up to his billing as the undisputed team leader. He has topped Canada in scoring (22.0ppg), rebounds (8.0rpg), assists (5.7apg) and efficiency (28.7) and is tied for second in steals (1.7spg). Gilgeous-Alexander also had his best two games against the best two teams in the group - scoring 27 points against both France and Latvia while adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists versus France and 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the win over Latvia.

#1 - Luka Doncic - Slovenia - Guard (+3)

Birth date: February 28, 1999 (24 years old)
Height: 2.01m / 6ft 7in
Club: Dallas Mavericks (USA)

Doncic has not disappointed his supporters as he leads undefeated Slovenia in scoring (30.0ppg), rebounds (8.0rpg), assists (7.0apg), steals (3.0spg) and efficiency (32.3). Doncic leads the entire World Cup in scoring, steals and efficiency .

The NBA star has not played an overwhelming number of minutes either - 31.2 per game - though his one weak spot has been outside shooting as 24 percent from long range. 

*The TISSOT MVP Ladder rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate FIBA ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author for the entertainment of the fans.

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