MIES (Switzerland) - Many of the top players in the world shined for the first time on the global stage at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. They have been wowing fans with their promise and talent since the inaugural event in 2010.
Here is a review of the Top 20 biggest names, how they performed in the event and what they have done as professionals.
Here is the third installment with places 10-6.
10 - Cooper Flagg - USA - 2022
2024 ranking: Previously unranked
Flagg shined in the 2022 U17 World Cup, his first appearance for USA Basketball. He averaged 9.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.9 blocks in earning a spot on the All-Star Five. The forward struggled at times with his shooting but always helped in other areas.
He had just 3 points in the opener against Lebanon but had 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. In the next win over Slovenia, Flagg tallied 12 points and 8 rebounds and then picked up 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocks against Mali.
Flagg started the Knockout Phase with 8 points, 10 reobunds and 4 blocks versus Egypt and then a monster game of 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in the Quarter-Finals win over Serbia. He chipped in 5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals against Lithuania before finishing the tournament with 10 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 8 steals and 4 blocks to help USA overcome Spain in the Final. That was the only time Flagg played for USA.
He finished his high school career at Monteverde Academy and was named Mr. Basketball USA and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2024. He attended Duke University for the 2024-25 season and stood out as the National Player of the Year and First-Team All-American. Flagg declared for the 2025 NBA Draft and was the number one overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2026.
9 - Jalen Green – USA - 2018
2024 ranking: 13 (+4)
As one of two players a year younger than the rest of the team, Green served as a scorer off the bench at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2017 and averaged 9.8 points and 2.0 rebounds. He had the same role at the U17 World Cup in 2018 and despite coming from the bench, Green led a stacked USA team in scoring with 15.7 points per game while also averaging 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals. And he was named the MVP of the tournament.
Green picked up 12.3 points per game in the group stage and tallied 10 points in the Round of 16 win over Dominican Republic. Then the explosive guard took off in the Quarter-Finals against Croatia, hitting 5 three-pointers in scoring 27 points on 13 shots in 19 minutes. Green then poured in 25 points in USA's Semi-Finals win over Canada in just 17 minutes. And he chipped in 11 points in the Final over France.
Green would play for USA again the next summer, playing a major role at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 with 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the title-winning team. Despite being two years younger than the rest of the competition, he scored 18 points in the Semi-Finals against Lithuania. Green has yet to play for USA Basketball since 2019.
Instead of attending college, Green signed with the NBA G League Ignite team for the 2020-21 season, averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He was then selected second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Green tallied 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2022. He averaged 22.1 points per game in 2022-23 and this past season averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while playing in all 82 games for the Rockets.
8 - Jaren Jackson Jr - USA - 2016
2024 ranking: 8 (-)
Jackson was making his FIBA debut at the U17 World Cup in 2016 and he played a role as backup big man, collecting 4.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 14 minutes. His best game came in the opener with 9 points and 6 rebounds against Chinese Taipei. Jackson tallied 6 points and 5 rebounds in his only other group stage game and had 3 points and 3 rebounds against Argentina in the Round of 16.
The New Jersey native scored 4 points to go with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in the Quarter-Finals win over Korea and contributed 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the Semi-Finals against Lithuania. Jackson chipped in 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks as USA beat Türkiye in the Final to win the title.
Jackson did not play for USA again until the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in nearly 17 minutes per game. He scored 12 points against both New Zealand and Jordan with a combined 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in First Round action. The big man also scored 11 points against Montenegro before combining for 5 points and 4 rebounds in the final Second Round game against Lithuania and Quarter-Finals versus Italy. Jackson chipped in 8 points and 3 rebounds in the Semi-Finals loss to Germany.
Jackson attended Michigan State University for one season and then was selected fourth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019 and led the NBA in blocks in 2022 and 2023, being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team both seasons and winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. Jackson - who was an NBA All-Star in 2023 and 2025 - started his eighth season with Memphis in 2025-26 but was then traded to the Utah Jazz in February 2026. The big man played just three games before undergoing knee surgery and missed the rest of the season.
7 - RJ Barrett - Canada - 2016
2024 ranking: 5 (-2)
There was actually some questions whether or not Barrett would play for Canada in the U17 World Cup in 2016 as he was working out with the Canadian senior national team for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Manila 2016 in the build-up to the youth event. Barrett the previous summer starred for Canada at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2015 with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Barrett ended up playing at the 2016 U17 World Cup and was the team leader despite playing a year younger, averaging 18.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He started the tournament with 19 points against Australia and then collected a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds against Finland. He finished the group stage with 17 points versus China. Barrett collected 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in the Round of 16 win over Dominican Republic. But Barrett's 33 points were not enough in the Quarter-Finals as Canada lost 80-74 to Türkiye.
He scored 23 points in 5-8 Classification against Australia and finished the tournament with 7 points versus France in helping Canada take fifth place with just one loss.
Barrett made history the next summer as he averaged 21.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in guiding Canada to the title at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - the country's first global championship - with Barrett winning the MVP award. Barrett, the son of 2000 Olympian Rowan Barrett, made his debut with the senior national team in the June/July 2018 window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.
He averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his only two games of the Qualifiers. Barrett collected 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 Victoria and then made more history at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. The wing collected 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as Canada claimed third place for their first FIBA World Cup podium finish. He then averaged 19.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists at the 2024 Olympics.
After one season of collegiate basketball at Duke University, Barrett was picked number 3 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. After four seasons in New York, Barrett was traded during the 2023-24 season to the Toronto Raptors, where he averaged career highs of 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32 games. Barrett has averaged at least 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists the last two seasons.
6 - Andrew Wiggins – Canada - 2010
2024 ranking: 3 (-3)
Wiggins made his FIBA debut at the U17 World Cup 2010 and was two years younger than the rest of the competition. He was not intimidated as he averaged 8.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. His best games came when it mattered most and he showed all a glimpse of what was to come in the future. He scored 20 points and had 5 rebounds in a Semi-Finals loss to the United States and then collected 12 points and 5 rebounds against Lithuania to help Canada secure the bronze medal.
Wiggins would play for Canada's youth ranks again two years later at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2012 and he averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the country finished third. Wiggins made his senior national team debut in FIBA competition at the FIBA AmeriCup 2015, where he averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in helping Canada to third place.
Wiggins did not play again for Canada until the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 Victoria, where he averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists but could not get the country to the Tokyo Games. He has not played for Canada since then.
Wiggins played one season of college basketball with the University of Kansas and then was chosen with the number one overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Wiggins was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2015 and in his first four seasons in the NBA played all 82 games three times, lining up for 81 games in the other season. He was traded during the 2019-20 season from Minnesota to Golden State and in 2022 earned his first NBA All-Star appearance and helped Golden State to the NBA title. After four full seasons with Golden State, Wiggins was traded to Miami in 2024-25 and he averaged 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists this past season.
Stay tuned for the rest of the Top 20 players to ever play at the U17 World Cup.
Disclaimer:This rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true, accurate FIBA ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author, purely for the entertainment of the fans.
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