MIES (Switzerland) - Each FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup supplies fans with its share of life-time memories with unforgettable performance and historic games. And every FIBA U19 World Cup ends with the naming of an All-Star Five of the five best players of the tournament.
We went back to review the past five FIBA U19 World Cups to see what the top quintet are doing now.
Prague, Czechia - 2013
MVP Aaron Gordon (USA), Dante Exum (AUS), Vasilije Micic (SRB), Jahlil Okafor (USA), Dario Saric (CRO)
Gordon was more known for his amazing dunks in his first seven years in the NBA with Orlando and then moved to Denver in 2021. In 2023, the power forward helped the Nuggets to the NBA title.
Exum left the NBA after seven seasons riddled with injuries and played two seasons in Europe before returning to the NBA in 2023, helping Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals. He also played for Australia in Paris 2024.
After being selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, Micic finally made his NBA debut in 2023 with Oklahoma City. He played for Charlotte in 2024-25 and moved to Phoenix for 2025. He played a crucial role in Paris 2024, helping Serbia securing a bronze medal.
After more than 5 seasons in the NBA, Okafor spent 2022 to 2025 playing in China, the NBA G-League, Spain and Puerto Rico before returning to the NBA for one game in 2025.
Saric just finished his ninth season in the NBA - most recently with Denver. He's been playing with the Croatian national team for the past twelve summers.
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 to New York and is fighting to reach the 2025 NBA Finals. He was part of the 2023 USA Basketball team that competed in the World Cup.
Arapovic played most recently with Krko Novo Mesto in Slovenia in 2021-22.
After two seasons in the NBA, Dorsey came to Europe and has played with high level clubs like Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Istanbul.
Giles has long dealt with injuries, including missing the entire 2022-23 season. He played in 2024-25 in China.
After eight seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, Korkmaz returned to Europe in 2024 and played this past season with Monaco and Bahcesehir. He has spent the last 10 summers with Türkiye's national team.
Cairo, Egypt - 2017
MVP RJ Barrett (CAN), Lorenzo Bucarelli (ITA), Abu Kigab (CAN), Tommaso Oxilia (ITA), Payton Pritchard (USA)
Barrett spent 4.5 seasons with the New York Knicks before moving onto Toronto, where he finished his second campaign with them. He helped Canada take third place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and played in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Bucarelli has played nine of the last 10 seasons in Italy's second division Serie A2.
Kigab has played his last two seasons in Germany.
After seven seasons in the Italian second division Serie A2, Oxilia played the last two seasons in the third divison Serie B.
Pritchard just finished his fifth season in the NBA with Boston, winning the NBA title in 2024 with the Celtics.
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 and also has played in China.
Ayayi helped Gonzaga reach the 2021 NCAA final, spent most of two seasons in the NBA G-League and then in 2023 moved back to play professionally in France.
After playing in the 2021 NCAA final with Gonzaga, Ballo moved to University of Arizona and after three years there played this past season at Indiana University.
Haliburton was drafted by Sacramento but traded to Indiana in his second season. He became a two-time NBA All-Star and led the NBA in assists in 2023-24. After winning the 2024 Olympic gold medal, Haliburton has Indiana on the brink of their second NBA Finals following 1999-2000. In 2023, he played the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila with USA Basketball.
Kanoute has played the past two seasons in France's second division and also become a leader in the Mali senior national team.
Daugavpils/Riga, Latvia - 2021
MVP Chet Holgrem (USA), Zach Edey (CAN), Jaden Ivey (USA), Nikola Jovic (SRB), Victor Wembanyama (FRA)
Holmgren was No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and after missing his whole first season injured he has helped OKC reach the 2025 NBA Finals.
After taking third place with Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Edey carried Purdue to the 2024 NCAA final and just finished his first NBA season with Memphis.
Ivey starred at Purdue alongside Edey and just completed his third season with Detroit after being picked 5th overall in 2022.
Jovic was drafted by Miami in 2022 and has played in 107 NBA games in his first three seasons. He was finalist with Serbia at the FIBA World Cup 2023 and won bronze in Paris 2024.
Wembanyama was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. He helped France take the silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. He missed the final two months of the 2024-25 season due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
Debrecen, Hungary - 2023
MVP Izan Almansa (ESP), Mark Armstrong (USA), Berke Buyuktuncel (TUR), Zacharie Perrin (FRA), Jordi Rodriguez (ESP)
Almansa played in the NBA G-League and then finished this past season with Perth in the Australian NBL. He recently got his first selections with the Spanish national team.
After playing two seasons with Villanova, Armstrong went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and played this past season in the NBA G-League.
Perrin moved from the French second division ProB to the ProA top flight this past season after having won the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024.
After coming up in the Joventut Badalona system, Rodriguez played this past season with Burgos in the Spanish second division Primera FEB.
Buyuktuncel finished this past season at the University of Nebraska in his second season in NCAA basketball.
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