MIES (Switzerland) - Every FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup provides its share of life-time memories - for the players, teams, countries involved and fans of the nations competing. And every U19 World Cup assigns an All-Star Five of the five best players of the tournament.

We wanted to go back at the last five U19 World Cups and see what the selected best players are doing now.

Riga. Latvia - 2011

MVP Jonas Valanciunas (LTU), Aleksandar Cvetkovic (SRB), Hugh Greenwood (AUS), Jeremy Lamb (USA). Dmitriy Kulagin (RUS)

Valanciunas has long been an NBA superstar, having just completed his 11th season in the league - most recently with the New Orleans Pelicans. He has also become a leader with the Lithuanian national team, playing at two FIBA Basketball World Cups and two Olympics. Cvetkovic finished his fourth season in Spain and second with Real Betis Sevilla. Greenwood did not continue with basketball after finishing college in the USA, deciding instead to play Australian rules football in the Australia Football League back home. Lamb has played 11 seasons in the NBA, this past year with the Sacramento Kings. Kulagin remains one of the top guards in Russian basketball as one of the leaders this season with Zenit St Petersburg.

Prague, Czech Republic - 2013

MVP Aaron Gordon (USA), Dante Exum (AUS), Vasilije Micic (SRB), Jahlil Okafor (USA), Dario Saric (CRO)

Gordon wowed basketball fans with his highlight dunks for years and he is finishing his ninth NBA season, fighting for an NBA title with Denver. Exum left the NBA after seven seasons riddled with injuries and starred this past season at Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. Micic has become one of the top point guards in Europe. He is a leader with the Serbia national team. After more than 5 seasons in the NBA, Okafor played in 2022 in China and spent the 2022-23 campaign in the NBA G-League. Saric just finished his seventh season in the NBA - most recently with Oklahoma City.

Heraklion, Greece - 2015

MVP Jalen Brunson (USA), Marko Arapovic (CRO), Tyler Dorsey (GRE), Harry Giles (USA), Furkan Korkmaz (TUR)

Brunson won two NCAA titles with Villanova and after four seasons with Dallas moved this off-season to New York. Arapovic played most recently with Krko Novo Mesto in Slovenia in 2021-22 and did not play this past season. After two seasons in the NBA, Dorsey came to Europe and has played with high level clubs like Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Olympiacos Piraeus and most recently Fenerbahce Istanbul. Giles has long dealt with injuries and played just 3 games in the NBA G-League in 2021-22 and hasn't played since then. Korkmaz completed his sixth season in the NBA with Philadelphia and is also a leader with the Turkey national team.

Cairo, Egypt - 2017

MVP RJ Barrett (CAN), Lorenzo Bucarelli (ITA), Abu Kigab (CAN), Tommaso Oxilia (ITA), Payton Pritchard (USA)

Barrett had one strong season at Duke University and then became a star in the NBA with New York. Bucarelli finished his third straight season in Italy's second division Serie A2 with Cantu. Kigab completed his college career at Boise State University and played for Canada at FIBA AmeriCup 2022 and most recently joined the Ottawa Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Oxilia has played the last seven seasons in Italy's second division Serie A2, Pritchard went to University of Oregon and has played the last three years with Boston in the NBA.

Heraklion, Greece - 2019

MVP Reggie Perry (USA), Joel Ayayi (FRA), Oumar Ballo (MLI), Tyrese Haliburton (USA), Sirimane Kanoute (MLI)

Perry bounced between the NBA and NBA G-League for two and a half seasons and then moved to Korea to play for Changwon. Ayayi helped Gonzaga reach the 2021 NCAA final and then spent most of the last two years in the NBA G-League. Ballo moved from Gonzaga to University of Arizona and became one of the team's leaders. Haliburton was drafted by Sacramento out of college and was traded to Indiana, where he spent the past season and became an NBA All-Star. Kanoute played this past season in France's third division NM1.

Daugavpils/Riga, Latvia - 2021

MVP Chet Holgrem (USA), Zach Edey (CAN), Jaden Ivey (USA),
Nikola Jovic (SRB), Victor Wembanyama (FRA)

Holmgren spent one season at Gonzaga and was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft but was injured before the season and did not play the entire year. Edey became one of the best big men in NCAA basketball in starring for Purdue and also played for Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers. Ivey starred at Purdue alongside Edey and excelled in his NBA rookie season with Detroit after being picked 5th overall. Jovic was drafted by Miami and spent the first part of the 2022-23 season with the Heat before going to the NBA G-League and is back on the roster for the NBA Playoffs. Wembanyama starred for Metropolians 92 in 2022-23 and is expected to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. He also played for France in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers.

FIBA