![USA v JPN](/images.fiba.com/Graphic/A/1/6/A/upGRwZitvka3IVGaYMyCnw.jpg?v=20220609133128246)
Top 15 biggest names to play U17 World Cup: Places 1-2
MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup has seen some amazing players over the course of five tournaments since 2010. Who are the top stars to have played in this event? We look at the Top 15 biggest names and how they performed at the event.
Here is places 11-15 plus Honorable mentions
Here is the final installment with the top two players.
2 - Andrew Wiggins - Canada - 2010
Wiggins went to Germany two years younger than the rest of the competition as a 1995-born player, but he showed it was not a mistake having him there. For the tournament he averaged 8.1 points and 3.2 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 go on to star for two seasons at the acclaimed Huntington Prep school in the United States and play one season at the University of Kansas.
Cleveland drafted Wiggins No. 1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and traded him before the season to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played at least 81 regular season games his first four seasons, scoring 23.6 points in 2016-17 - also winning the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year. Wiggins moved to Golden States during the 2019-20 campaign and this season really blossomed playing together with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, hitting a career-best 39.2 percent on three-pointers and scoring 17.2 points. He also was named as an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2022. Wiggins has continued to play for Canada, helping the country take bronze as the FIBA AmeriCup 2015 and competing in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament ahead of the 2020 Olympics. He is currently playing in the NBA Finals for the first time with the Warriors.
1 - Jayson Tatum - USA - 2014
Tatum was in Dubai as a bottom-level player, one year younger than the 1997-born generation. That did not stop the St. Louis area native from playing a key role in helping the United States win their third U17 World Cup crown. He averaged 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. He spent one season at Duke University and was then 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 as he registered career highs in scoring (26.9 ppg) rebounds (8.0 rpg), assists (4.4 apg) and minutes (35.9 mpg). Tatum also finally got past the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating Miami in seven games to face the Golden State Warriors. In 2021, Tatum became the first player in history to win gold at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup and the Olympics as he collected 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in Japan.
FIBA