MIES (Switzerland) - In less than 100 days, the FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

We've selected 100 good reasons to look forward to, with relish, international basketball's biggest and most competitive tournament.

You can check out reasons 100 to 76 here. reasons 75 to 51 here and reasons 50 to 26 here.

Here is the last part - reasons 25 to 1 to be hyped for the upcoming World Cup.

25

SLAM says it's going to be epic.

24

Ricky Rubio is back.

He was the World Cup 2019 Most Valuable Player. He's healthy again and he said he wants to defend the title with Spain.

23

30 cameras to shoot the games.

For the Final Phase, the broadcasting team that will produce the games at the World Cup will have a 30 camera set-up and really cool new features and angles.

22

La Mosca Atomica

The only thing more unpredictable, and perhaps entertaining, in Italy's World Cup games will be the must-see performance of Gianmarco Pozzecco, the former national team star-turned-coach.

21

Wemby.

"I intend to be at the World Cup," he said in February during the World Cup Qualifiers playing for France. Now the whole world is waiting to see him in action in Jakarta before the start of his NBA career. Is he the most exciting player on the planet right now?

20

A team from Africa in the Top 10?

The last team from Africa to make it in the Top 10 of the final standings of a World Cup was Angola in 2006 (9th with 3 wins and 3 losses). Will Angola, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt or South Sudan do better than that in 2023?

19

You can lose a game and still win it all.

If you look at the history of the World Cup, in 18 editions, only 9 teams have won it and stayed undefeated. Argentina in 1950, USA in 1954, 1994, 2010 and 2014, Brazil in 1963, Yugoslavia in 1978 and Spain in 2006 and 2019. All the other World Champions have lost one game in the competition, even two games for Yugoslavia in 2002.

The last four World Champions since 2006 (USA and Spain) did not lose a single game. 

18

Who can take a shot at this record?

In 1978, Brazil beat China 154-97. No team has scored more points in a World Cup game. In 1990, USA beat Korea 146-97.

In 2023, it is possible to aim for such high scoring displays? In 2019, Canada and Serbia both reached the 126 mark. And in 2014, USA scored the most points in the competition during the Final against Serbia, 129-92.

17

No home-court advantage.

Only three teams won the World Cup as hosts and the last one was more than half a century ago. They were Argentina in 1950, Brazil in 1963 and Yugoslavia in 1970. Only 14%! The odds are not in the Philippines' favor for 2023.

16

Iconic moments.

The World Cup is where the biggest stars are having their biggest moments. Remember in 2006 when Dirk Nowitzki erupted for 47 points, corralled 16 rebounds and handed out four assists against Angola in the only triple-overtime game in the history of the World Cup?

 

15

Luka Magic.

Luka confirmed his participation a minute after Slovenia punched their ticket to the World Cup on November 14. Are you ready for another display of Luka Magic?

 

14

Which team will be the best shooting team?

In 2019, New Zealand averaged a tournament best 12.4 three-point field goals made, drilling 41.6 percent. Five teams averaged over 10 a game. In 2014, only Argentina was above the 10 mark at 10.5 (38.0 percent).

In the last three editions of the World Cup, the best three-point shooting percentage for a competition was Australia's stunning 47.9 percent in 2014. The second best team for 2010, 2014 and 2019 combined is Turkey in 2010 with 42.9%.

13

Fournier's hunger.

Evan Fournier has been the leading scorer for France every summer since 2017. He experienced a frustrating season with very little playing time for the New York Knicks. Will this make him rusty for the World Cup or even more dangerous?

12

Can anyone beat the record of five double-doubles at a World Cup?

Since the 1994 World Cup in Toronto, Puerto Rico's Piculin Ortiz (1998), Turkey's Mirsad Turkcan (2002), Philippines' Andray Blatche (2014) and Korea's Guna Ra (2019) have had five double-doubles at FIBA's flagship event. Can anyone else surpass that mark this year?

11

Lietuva fans.

Lithuania have a wonderful tradition of bringing numerous and vocal fans to every major event on the planet. This World Cup should be no exception with another chance to see the Twin Towers in action, one of the most powerful frontcourts in international basketball, Jonas Valanciunas and Domas Sabonis.

10

Simone Fontecchio's touch.

The gunslinger that shot Italy into the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and then hit a scalding hot 45.1 percent from deep at EuroBasket 2022 will take center stage for the Azzurri as they go after a first-ever spot on the World Cup podium.

 

9

Can Shai stay undefeated with Canada?

In the summer of 2022, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played his first three games with the National Team of Canada during the Americas Qualifiers for the World Cup. Three wins. How long can he keep this streak going?

8

Unicorn v Alien

Kristaps Porzingis averaged an eye-popping, high-flying 23.6 points per game in his one big tournament with Latvia, FIBA EuroBasket 2017. Imagine the fireworks when Latvia face France. The potential duel between 'Unicorn Porzingis' and 'Alien Wemby' will be an absolute must-watch.

 

7

One-Two Punch of the Wagners

Moritz Wagner averaged 11 points per game at the Tokyo Olympics and brother Franz poured in 15.2 at EuroBasket 2022. Imagine the potency of the German national team's fraternal fuselage in Okinawa?!

Moritz Wagner dunked on Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics

6

Can Zhou Qi do it on the biggest stage?

He's been great in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers for China (16.7 points and 10.2 rebounds in nine games). He will need now to play at that level this summer to keep China's hopes alive.

5

Yago Mateus, hidden gem.

Brazil's dynamo point guard has taken his game to new heights. His 17 points and eight assists were vital in the must-win game against USA in the Americas Qualifiers and now he's led surprise package Ratiopharm Ulm into Germany's BBL Finals.

4

Nikola Jokic sums it up.

What does it mean for a player to play for his country? "When you play for Serbia, it's always a little bit more emotional, the adrenalin, the whole country is cheering for you", he said in a Press Conference before the Game 2 of the NBA Finals. "And that's a dream for every player from Serbia to play for the National Team. I would not say that you feel the pressure, but emotions... It's the next level of everything."

3

First triple-double?

In 2019, two players came very close to posting the first triple-double ever in a World Cup game. Joe Ingles for Australia against Senegal (17 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists) and Dennis Schroder for Germany against Canada (21 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists).

2

Giannis thinks about winning with Greece every day.

He said that in January. He averaged a competition-high Efficiency Rating of 32.7 at the last EuroBasket. Can he do better on the World stage? If he wants to win with Greece, he might have to.

 

1

The Welcome Mat

Traveling fans will love the basketball, and the hospitality of Manila, Okinawa and Jakarta.  

This article was done by the Editorial team for promotional purposes and does not reflect in any sense FIBA’s official views on the competition.

 FIBA