Window 4: superstars playing at home for the first time!
MIES (Switzerland) - The fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers was nothing short of amazing as numerous stars seized on the opportunity to play meaningful games at home.
MIES (Switzerland) - The fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers was nothing short of amazing as numerous stars seized on the opportunity to play meaningful games at home with their senior national teams around the globe, including some for the first time. Others returned to the home hardwood after a very long time.
| First home game with senior national team | |
|---|---|
| Player | Country |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | |
| Kristaps Porzingis | |
| Jordan Clarkson | |
| Chris Duarte | |
| Willy Hernangomez | |
| Franz Wagner | |
| Luke Travers | |
| Usman Garuba | |
| Kai Jones | |
| Tremont Waters | |
| Alexander Pythress | |
| Yacine Toumi | |
Without these windows, there would have been no games for these superstars to play before their own countrymen.
There were packed arenas, for example, as the two players to collect the past four NBA MVP titles combined, Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, ran onto the hardwood in their homelands to compete for their national teams.
| Players returning to national team at home in WC 2023 Q Window 4 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Country | Last NT official home game |
| Nikola Jokic | Olympic Qualifying Tournament, 2016 | |
| Rudy Gobert | EuroBasket 2015 | |
| Evan Fournier | EuroBasket 2015 | |
| Jusuf Nurkic | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Cedi Osman | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Furkan Korkmaz | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Jan Vesely | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Juancho Hernangomez | WC Qualifiers, July 2018 | |
| Kevin Pangos | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Juan Toscano | WC Qualifiers, February 2019 | |
| Isaac Fotu | WC Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Nick Fazekas | WC Qualifiers, December 2018 | |
| Yudai Baba | WC Qualifiers, December 2018 | |
And this is what happened late June for Window 3
In the last three months, the number of players that have played at home thanks to the windows is hugely impressive.
| First home game with senior national team | |
|---|---|
| Player | Country |
| Luka Doncic | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | |
| Buddy Hield | |
| Jose Alvarado | |
| Dragan Bender | |
| Ignas Brazdeikis | |
| Justin Jackson | |
| Thon Maker | |
| Kostas Antetokounmpo | |
| Matt Costello | |
What this 2022 summer's windows have show is that when the stars turn out for their teams and play in meaningful games, they truly captivate the fans in their countries. Thanks to these players turning up and putting on the national team shirt, they have forged an even stronger connection to the people that always cheer for them.
The supporters of the national teams themselves have created remarkable, unforgettable atmospheres at games that they and the players will never always remember.
The federations did a spectacular job of putting their teams together, selling tickets and marketing the games and broadcasters made sure the coverage of games was first class, adding to the sense of drama not only in the arenas but also for all those watching at home.
Everyone connected to national team basketball worked together to make this a jaw-dropping summer, one that is going to benefit the sport.
| Players returning to national team at home in WC 2023 Q Window 3 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Country | Last NT official home game |
| Marcelinho Huertas | Olympic Games, August 2016 | |
| Goran Dragic | EuroBasket Qualifiers, September 2016 | |
| Elie Okobo | World Cup Qualifiers, February 2018 | |
| Lauri Markkanen | World Cup Qualifiers, July 2018 | |
| Facundo Campazzo | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Dennis Schroder | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Tomas Satoransky | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Vincent Poirier | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Luigi Datome | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Tyler Dorsey | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Achille Polonara | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Corey Webster | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
| Aleksandar Vezenkov | World Cup Qualifiers, September 2018 | |
FIBA