The FIBA Men’s World Cup is the biggest international basketball competition in the world and this year, will take place in three different Asian nations (Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines) from the 25th of August to the 10th of September 2023. To help you make informed betting choices on prematch and live matches today, we’ve broken down all the information you need about the players, teams, groups, schedule, [betting odds. ](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/outright/basketball/international/fiba-world-cup) **FIBA World Cup Group Stage explained** For the second time in the event’s history, 32 nations will be represented at the FIBA Men’s World Cup. Of these teams, 12 are from Europe, five are from Africa, seven are from North and South America, and eight are from Asia/Oceania. As always, teams from each group will compete against each other to determine progression. Group A: Angola, Dominican Republic, Italy, Philippines Group B: China, Serbia, South Sudan, Puerto Rico Group C: Greece, Jordan, New Zealand, United States Group D: Egypt, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro Group E: Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan Group F: Cape Verde, Georgia, Slovenia, Venezuela Group G: Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Iran, Spain Group H: Canada, France, Latvia, Lebanon **Group A** In group A, the Dominican Republic and Italy are favorites to progress to the knockout stages. So far, Minnesota Timberwolves forward, Karl-Anthony Towns, has led his team to a 2-0 record while Italy and Angola still both have a chance to advance to the knockout stage with 1 win and 1 loss apiece. Jordan Clarkson’s Philippines team already looks to be out of the competition. **Group B** Despite being without the services of reigning NBA Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic, Serbia has cruised to a 2-0 record, ahead of Puerto Rico and South Sudan, who both have a 1-1 record, and China with zero wins so far. **Group C** Predictably, the U.S.A are in first-place with a perfect 2-0 record while Greece and New Zealand have identical 1-1 records while Jordan props up the Group C table with zero wins from two games. **Group D** Group D is more balanced, with the two top teams, Lithuania and Montenegro with 2-0 records each, while Egypt and Mexico are both out of the tournament with matching 0-2 records **Group E** Germany comfortably tops Group E with 2 wins from 2 games while Australia and Japan both have 1-1 records and Finland has failed to win any game. **Group F** Just like most of the other groups, Group F has one runaway leader with two wins (Slovenia), 2 teams with 1-1 records (Georgia and Cape Verde) and a last with zero wins (Venezuela) **Group G** Over in Group G, it’s the same ol’ story. Spain leads the group with a 2-0 record, Brazil and Ivory Coast have one win each, and Iran has lost two games and will not make the K.O stage. **Group H** Group H is another anomaly as Shai Gilgeous- Alexander and Davis Bertans have led Canada and Latvia to 2-0 records (and qualification) while France has suffered the ignominy of a first-round exit, along with Lebanon, despite the presence of Rudy Gobert. **FIBA World Cup knockout stage explained** In the second round, the top two teams from each group will face the top two teams from the opposing group. To determine each team's classification they will carry over their win-loss record from the group stage. Eight of the top teams from the second round will advance to the knockout quarterfinals, where the victors advance to the semifinals and eventually, play the title game. To select the teams in positions 9 through 16, the lowest eight will compete in a series of knockout games. Teams will also play a series of knockout games to decide the 17th to 32nd place finishers in the classification round with point differential proving to be important. **FIBA Men's World Cup favorites** Spain is attempting to win back-to-back championships while the United States is seeking atonement after placing eighth at the 2019 edition; their worst-ever result at the tournament. France are already out while Serbia were disappointing four years ago. Then, they were tipped as favorites but did not progress to the semifinal. Slovenia, on the other hand, will be aiming to impress their basketball-crazed nation in their first outing at the World Cup. Team leader, Luka Doncic is one of the five best Basketball players in the world and with him in the team, Slovenia has a chance against anybody. Additionally, teams with top two finishes from the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe will all automatically qualify for the Olympics. **Top players at the FIBA Men’s World Cup** Despite premium NBA talent like Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Ricky Rubio (Spain), Jamal Murray (Canada), Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), Rui Hachimura (Japan), and Victor Wembanyama (France) pulling out of the World Cup, there’s still plenty of star power available. NBA stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett will lead the line for Canada, along with Dillion Brooks, Nickeil Alexander Walker, and Dwight Powell. Elsewhere, Australia boasts NBA stars Patty Mills, Josh Giddey, and defensive ace, Matisse Thybulle. Lakers Guard, Dennis Schroeder will lead the German squad, consisting of players like Daniel Theis and the Wagner brothers; Franz, and Moritz Wagner. The players representing the United States of America need no introduction; they’re all established NBA talent and, while still new to this stage, have shown that they have the talent and bite required to do well in International tournaments. has 12 NBA players which makes them a star driven team with a lot of pressure. **Awards** In this year’s FIBA, just like any other tournament, awards will be given out when the tournament ends. Here are our picks to lift these awards: **MVP** Luka Doncic is the best player in this tournament, but can his team actually win it? Teams like the U.S.A and Canada have far more talent, two-way talent, to be precise. It’s hard to look beyond Anthony Edwards or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning this one.
**Top Scorer Award** This one is simple.
**Top Assist Award** The playmaking talent at the FIBA World Cup is off the charts, due to the sheet quality of talent available. For many, the obvious pick will be Luka Doncic, who is without doubt, the best playmaker at the tournament. However, he will also be relied on to carry the scoring load and after a season of doing the same thing with the Mavericks, we don’t see him being able to do both consistently. Something has to give, and his scoring is too important to Slovenia. Next up is Josh Giddey whose OKC experience should come to the fore here. Surrounded with scoring threats like Patty Mills and Joe Ingles, we expect him to consistently dish easy looks for his teammates.
**Top Blocks** Ordinarily, we would have Jaren Jackson Jr as our pick in this category. However, he’s an NBA player and while he will be aware that he can park himself in the paint, it won’t be second nature for him. Greek center, Georgios Papagiannis is our pick for this category. At 7’3”, he is a massive presence in the paint and is used to FIBA defending. Unlike Jackson, he also doesn’t have a propensity for getting into foul trouble.
**Conclusion** The FIBA World Cup provides the best possible platform for you to enjoy high-level basketball before the return of the NBA and EuroLeague Basketball. You can also enjoy other online sports betting options like the recently-resumed Football Club Leagues. Visit [our Blog](https://m.betking.com/blog/) today for betting tips, [sign up](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) and enjoy a slam-dunk victory with BetKing!