COLOGNE (Germany) - Group B can easily be branded 'the group of death' at FIBA EuroBasket 2022. At least four teams from this group have realistic expectations of climbing on the podium in Berlin.

The reigning champions, Slovenia, will be there with FIBA EuroBasket 2017 MVP Goran Dragic back to the squad after a five-year long sabbatical. They could've been Olympic medalists, too, but France denied them with a last-second shot in the Semi-Finals in Saitama last summer, and we get to witness a re-match in Germany now.

Lithuania have arguably the best frontline combo with Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas, and Germany's chances are rising when you consider they won FIBA EuroBasket 1993 as hosts, so why not do it again?

Meanwhile Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary are looking like the outsiders in this group, which speaks volumes on how strong this pool really is - both those teams would've been favorites to advance out of any other group in this event.

World rank	Country	Zone rank	Current points
4.	France	2.	673.4
5.	Slovenia	3.	671.2
8.	Lithuania	5.	651.4
11.	Germany	8.	603.9
43.	Hungary	21.	261.0
46.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	24.	247.6

Team to beat: Slovenia

Rudy Tomjanovich uttered the memorable "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion" quote and it applies in this case because, as long as they have their full squad available, the defending champions should be the number one favorites to run it back.

Slovenia proved they are more than a one-trick pony after their success in Istanbul. Even without their talismanic leader Goran Dragic, they went on to stun the capacity crowd in Lithuania during the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament last summer - another re-match we're looking forward to - and then went on to be the sweethearts of the Tokyo Games in their inaugural appearance at the Olympics.

Re-match could be the theme of this group. It seems more than likely that teams will see each other more than once even during FIBA EuroBasket 2022, when they face off in group stage, and then when they end up in the medal battle.

We picked Slovenia as the team to beat, but it really could've been France, Lithuania or Germany - even Bosnia and Herzegovina could enter the mix after beating France in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers just a few days before the tip-off in Cologne.

Player to watch: Luka Doncic

Instead of describing what Luka Doncic could do, it's probably best to just share the Media Survey results ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2022. Doncic received 41.8 percent of media votes when it came to predicting the tournament MVP. He received 60.8 percent of votes to be the top scorer; 35.4 percent votes to lead the event in assists; and 45.6 percent to be the player to take the shot with the game on the line.

He was already selected to the All-Star Lineup back in 2017, as an 18-year-old. At 23, he has unlocked new levels of his game which make him, quite possibly, the most exciting thing in basketball right now.

Group B team profiles

Germany: Dennis Schroder carrying the hopes of the entire nation, searching for the 1993 vibes that saw Germany lift the trophy at home.

Hungary: Back-to-back FIBA EuroBasket appearances are a big deal for a nation like Hungary, don't count them out.

Slovenia: Most certainly not a one-hit wonder.

Lithuania: Time to end the seven year long drought and bring home another medal.

BIH: Off court issues troubling one of the most talented generations of BIH basketball.

France: Les Bleus consider back-to-back medals in 2019 and 2021 as just a starting point for worldwide domination.

The games in Cologne tip off on Thursday, September 1. Full schedule is available here.