MIES (Switzerland) - As Jalen Brunson poured in 45 points in the NBA title clinching Game 5 win for New York , and as Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart made significant contributions for the Knicks throughout the playoffs, we couldn't help but wonder - was 2023 the foundation for success in 2026?
In Manila, the Philippines, the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 went down in history as one of the most competitive major events ever.
Germany picked up gold, Serbia reached the Final despite not having Nikola Jokic, and Canada climbed the third step of the podium, leaving USA in fourth place.
Being the perennial powerhouse, not reaching the podium was a devastating blow for the United States. Fans and media representatives everywhere were quick to blame it on a thin roster in Manila.
Looking back nearly three years later, we're not sure we feel the same.
USA's roster then and now
Let's start with the aforementioned New York Knicks. Sure, Brunson, Hart and Bridges all went to Villanova, so chemistry wasn't a problem. there.
Remember Bridges and that big clutch moment against Canada in the Third-Place Game in Manila? He intentionally missed a free throw, grabbed his own rebound, and sprinted to the corner to hit the three-pointer and send the game to overtime.
Hart had a specific role, lurking around the rim to pick up unexpected rebounds in Manila in 2023. In fact, at 5.3 rebounds per game, he was the best rebounder on the team for coach Steve Kerr.
You think he learned a new trick or two in FIBA surroundings? We do - he averaged 11.5 rebounds per game in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, done across 13 games, and he had a 9.6 rebounds per game in the Regular Season in 2024-25.
In the playoffs earlier this year, he averaged 8.9 rebounds while playing fewer minutes per game - down from last year's 35.7 minutes per game to 32.3 minutes per game.
Just a reminder, Hart is 1.93M (6'4'') tall.
As for Brunson? He now resides in the pantheon of New York sports legends after an MVP performance in the NBA Finals.
A few years ago, his World Cup wasn't a sensational one, yet players almost always say how competing for the national team gives them a head start going into the new season.
Straight after Manila, Jalen Brunson went on to average career-best 28.7 points per game for the Knicks in 2023-24, with a rock solid 32.4 points per game in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
In the 2025-26 regular season, he averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists while in the post-season, it was 28.4 points and 6.1 assists per game
In reality, Brunson struggled at the 2023 World Cup, and it opened up the door for another player to lead the USA in assists and steals. That was Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.
For USA, there was also Anthony Edwards, who made the All-Star Five in Manila. He is one of the Minnesota Timberwolves' leading lights. He averaged 28.8 points per game in the regular season, 21.6 in the playoffs.
FIBA is different
So, what was the problem for all these 2026 NBA Playoffs top performers - remember Haliburton didn't play at all this year because of injury - back in 2023? Why didn't they finish on top, since it is now more than obvious they were loaded with talent?
The answer is two-fold, because (1) they were so, so, so young back then, with Hart and Bobby Portis looking like veterans at 28 years of age, and because (2) the other teams were just so strong, physically, mentally, as a group, any way you want to define the word strong, they had it.
Brunson, Bridges, Hart, Edwards and Haliburton aren't just three years older now, they are some 240 games more experienced than back then, including valuable minutes both at the World Cup and the Olympics. Edwards and Haliburton were in the Olympic team in Paris and the former had meaningful minutes.
As much as we feel like it's all basketball, and the goal is to put the ball through the net, playing for the national team is different.
Just take it from Giannis Antetokounmpo, talking about his improvement under coach Vassilis Spanoulis in 2025.
"He pushed me to go out of my comfort zone, he was always keeping me alert and changed the way I approach the game."
Don't believe Giannis? Let's ask Victor Wembanyama then, talking about the Olympics, for instance:
"I would say it's one of the most, maybe the most intense sports experience in my life."
"There's a lot I learned from it," he said. "Different types of experiences. Stuff that I learned I'm going to use for my whole life, my whole career."
Wembanyama finished in the top three of regular season MVP voting in the 2025-26 campaign and led the Spurs to the NBA Finals.
It's a learning process, any time the NBA stars enter a FIBA organized competition. The cores of the Finalists in Manila, Germany and Serbia, were built nearly a decade before they got to the World Cup, while the USA roster was put together just months before the event.
In retrospect, maybe we'll need more time to realize how good USA were in 2023, and coincidentally, how good all the other teams were, too, including the likes of Slovenia, Lithuania, the Dominican Republic or South Sudan, teams that weren't even in the medal hunt.
Karl-Anthony Towns played for the Dominicans in Manila and now, as a Knick, is an NBA champion. Ditto for Jordan Clarkson, who played for the Philippines.
While Clarkson was a valuable reserve for New York, Towns averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in the regular season and had some huge playoff games, including double-doubles in points and rebounds in the first two games of the Finals.
Maybe we'll need more time to give the final answer.
But rest assured, we'll keep reminding you about 2023 as long as all these guys are excelling, even dominating, in the NBA.
FIBA