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 fourth installment with places 5-1
5 - Scottie Barnes - USA - 2018
2024 ranking: 11 (+6)
Barnes played a major role in USA rolling to the title at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2017 and then grew into a leadership role for the stacked American team at the U17 World Cup in 2018. He averaged 9.5 points, 5.8 rebounds in 2.3 assists in less than 16 minutes per game in Argentina.
He totaled 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals as he played in just two of three group stage games. Barnes' game stepped up in the knockout phase, starting with 13 points 9 rebounds and 3 assists against Dominican Republic. He followed that with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals versus Croatia in the Quarter-Finals and had his best game against Canada in the Semi-Finals with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. In the title game against France, Barnes chipped in 3 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Barnes would play the next summer for USA at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 and averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 asissts in helping the Americans to the title in Heraklion. Barnes has yet to play for USA since then though in January 2024 he was included in the 41-man pool of players for the 2024 Olympics.
Barnes played one season of college basketball at Florida State and then was picked fourth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He was named the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year and was selected as an NBA All-Star in 2024 and 2026. This past season he played a career high 80 regular season games and showed his superstar all-around game with 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks.
4 - Evan Mobley - USA - 2018
2024 ranking: 17 (+13)
Mobley was one of the leading big men for a stacked USA roster for the 2018 U17 World Cup. The California native was outstanding throughout the tournament, averaging 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.6 blocks in 18 minutes per game. He ranked second in the competition with swats.
Mobley's size was needed for USA against Mali, collecting 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks and then had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks in the Quarter-Finals against Croatia. He chipped in 4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Semi-Finals versus Canada and added 8 points with USA beating France in the Final.
Mobley played a year younger the next summer at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019. The center was not able to play much though as he was dealing with a back issue. He was limited to just 7:30 minutes of play in two games, picking up 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block. Mobley has yet to play again for USA since then.
The center played one season of college basketball at University of Southern California and then was selected third overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He finished second in the balloting for NBA Rookie of the Year in 2022 and solidified his status as one of the top defenders in the league, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. Mobley has averaged at least 18 points, 9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in the last two seasons.
3 - Alperen Sengun - Türkiye - 2018
2024 ranking: 6 (+3)
Sengun made his FIBA debut at the U17 World Cup 2018 about a month shy of his 16th birthday. And the Giresun native was strong from the first tip, averaging 15.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. The center scored 12 points in each of the first two games to go with 17 combined rebounds. In the final group stage game, he was limited to 6 points but grabbed 14 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists.
Sengun collected 22 points and 15 rebounds as Türkiye beat Serbia in the Round of 16 but his 26 points and 17 rebounds were not enough in a loss to France in the Quarter-Finals. He continued to dominate with 20 points and 13 rebounds against Montenegro and finished the tournament with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks as Türkiye beat Australia to take fifth place.
Sengun played later that summer for Türkiye again and led the country to third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2018, averaging 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds. The following summer he collected 11.9 points and 9.0 rebounds at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2019 and Türkiye grabbed second place with Sengun garnering a spot on the All-Star Five.
Sengun made his senior national team debut at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers, playing in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows and averaging 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals, including 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals against Sweden. Sengun played at the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Victoria and then starred at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, collecting 16.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals. Sengun was only able to play in one window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers and then he averaged 16.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 Türkiye.
Sengun nearly made history with Türkiye in 2025 as he guided the country to the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Final, losing 88-83 to Germany. The big man averaged 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.1 blocks in garnering a spot on the All-Star Five.
Sengun started his career at Bandirma and moved to Besiktas Istanbul and was named the Turkish league MVP in 2021 - at age 19. He was selected at No. 16 of the 2021 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder and traded to the Houston Rockets. Sengun has become a league superstar with his all-around versatile game. He averaged a career high 21.1 points in 2023-24 and then had 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists a season later.
This past season he collected 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, a career-high 6.2 assists to go with 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. Sengun was named an All-Star in 2025 and 2026.
2 - Jamal Murray - Canada - 2014
2024 ranking: 2 (-)
Murray played for Canada at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2013 and averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He took on the same leadership at the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2014, topping the team in scoring with 16.4 points - ranking seventh overall - and 2.9 assists while also grabbing 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Also noteworthy, Murray played 190 minutes and committed only three turnovers in the tournament. Murray poured in 25 points in a big win over Australia in the group stage but his 24 points - on just 7-of-22 shooting - were not enough versus Serbia in the Quarter-Finals.
Murray played the following summer at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto and helped Canada to the silver medal - at just 18 years of age - with 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Murray did not play again for Canada until the 2024 Olympics where he picked up 6.0 points. 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
In 2016, the Denver Nuggets drafted him seventh overall after one season at Kentucky. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2017. Murray helped Denver become the first NBA team to rally from multiple 3-1 series deficits to reach the 2020 NBA Western Conference Finals with some of amazing individual performances. He averaged more than 20 points per game in 2019-20 and 2020-21 but then missed the entire 2021-22 season recovering from an ACL tear that ended the 2020-21 season in April.
Murray teamed up with Nikola Jokic and guided Denver to a magical run to the 2023 NBA title. Murray became the first player in NBA history to average 30 points on 50/40/90 percent shooting in the Conference Finals. In the Finals he averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in an NBA Finals series.
In 2023-24, Murray tied his career-high with 21.2 points per game and set a new best with 6.5 assists to go with 4.1 rebounds. But the Nuggets were eliminated by Minnesota in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. His numbers remained consistent the following season and then rose to career highs of 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 2025-26 - though the Nuggets were bounced in the opening round of the playoffs.
1 - Jayson Tatum - USA - 2014
2024 ranking: 1 (-)
Tatum was a year younger at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2013 but he still averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The next summer, the St. Louis area native played a key role in helping the United States win their third U17 World Cup crown with 11.3 points - third most on the USA team - to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Tatum's top scoring output came against Japan in the Round of 16 as he scored 19 points. He stood out in the Americans' big fight in the Final against Australia with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Tatum added another youth global title the following summer, helping United States win the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2015 with 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Tatum made his debut with the USA senior team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 but he was limited to just two games due to an injury, averaging 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Tatum returned for the 2020 Olympics and averaged 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in helping USA to the gold medal. He became the first player in history to win gold at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup and the Olympics. Tatum played a minor role at the 2024 Olympics with 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds but collected another gold medal.
After one season with Duke University, Tatum was selected third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. Tatum was named to the 2018 NBA All-Rookie First Team and helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Tatum and Boston returned to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020, this time losing to Miami in six games. Tatum in 2021-22 was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first of three straight seasons. The five-time NBA All-Star guided Boston to the NBA Finals in 2022 but lost in six games to Golden State and then fell to Miami in the Conference Finals in 2023. Tatum in 2022-23 averaged career highs of 30.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Tatum and Boston returned to the NBA Finals in 2024 and won the title over the Dallas Mavericks, collecting 25.0 points 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the playoffs run. Tatum totalled 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 6.0 assists in the 2024-25 season. But in Game 4 of the second round of the 2025 playoffs, Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon and missed the rest of the season. He did not return until March 2026 and ended up averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 16 games.
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