International Watch: Ranking the top 10 FIBA World Cup players outside the USA

Although the USA – the world’s number one ranked team – were an automatic favourite to be crowned champions at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, few predicted that they would achieve the feat with such relative ease, winning each game by an average margin of 32.5 points per game and continuing their 63 game unbeaten streak in international basketball contests. But don’t let the Americans’ dominance distract you from the top performers from the rest of the world, many of whom, even in defeat, used the World Cup stage to further define their legacies.

Here are the top 10 players from the 2014 FIBA World Cup outside the USA. Click here for full feature.

USA stamps basketball dominance with another FIBA World Cup win

Without Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, or Carmelo Anthony. Without even Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kevin Love, or Paul George. On paper, the 2014 World Cup featured a younger and 'weaker' USA side. This wasn't the 'redeemed' USA side that - since their last competitive loss in 2006 - had been undefeated and dominated opponents in every international basketball tournament since. This was, what many critics called, the 'C Team', the youngest USA side since the NBA began sending professionals back in 1992.

But basketball games aren't won on paper; Team USA's so-called 'C Team' turned the 'C' into 'Championship', defending the rebranded FIBA World Cup title for the first time in their history with a dominant performance that easily blew out the rest of the global competition. Winning every game by an average margin of 32.5 points, Team USA went an undefeated 9-0 at the World Cup in Spain, capping off their wonderful tournament with their best performance in the final: a 129-92 victory over Serbia in Madrid on Sunday, September 14.

After a slow start as Serbia raced to a 15-7 lead early in the game, USA bounced back with a 15-0 spurt and never looked back. USA made the most of the shortened international three-point line, hitting 11-16 threes in the final. Kyrie Irving (26) and James Harden (23) were the chief perpetrators as Serbia had no answer for the American onslaught. By the end of the contest, eight of the 12 USA players had scored in double figures en route to the 37 point win.

This was USA's fifth gold medal at the FIBA World Cup, tying for top slot with the former Yugoslavia. They have now won 63 straight games - 45 in official FIBA events and 18 in exhibition play - and are automatically qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

USA won all of their group games with relative ease, yet, because of their slow starts and the quality of their opponents, doubts remained about the true talent of this young team. By knocking out Mexico, Slovenia, Lithuania, and then Serbia on the way to the gold, USA went on to erase all such doubts. Kyrie Irving was named tournament's MVP, but this was far from a one-man effort: the likes of Kenneth Faried, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, and more came up big from game to game to keep the Americans at the head of the race.

Since breaking up with Yugoslavia, the silver in 2014 was Serbia's first ever medal at the tournament. Serbia were the competition's unlikely finalists: they won only two of their five group games to sneak into the knockout stage, and then, they suddenly found a way to turn their performances around. The Serbs blew out favoured opponents like Greece and Brazil and held on to win in a classic Semi-Final over France to reach the final.

France won the bronze medal by scraping past Lithuania 95-93 for a close win on Saturday. Led by 27 points by Nicolas Batum, France bounced back from a fourth quarter deficit to claim victory. Lithuania's high scorer was their young center Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. France, who won last year's EuroBasket, will be happy with their performance at the World Cup, especially since they were able to win a medal without the likes of Tony Parker or Joakim Noah in their lineup.

The biggest disappointment at the World Cup was the performance of hosts Spain. Featuring the likes of Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Rudy Fernandez, Spain entered the tournament at full strength and seemed to have all the pieces to be the only true challengers to USA's ascent. This was perhaps the last opportunity of Spain's "golden generation" heralded by Pau Gasol to beat the USA and claim their second World Cup win after 2006. Alas, after a fine start in the group stage and the round of 16, Spain were shocked in one of the great upsets in world basketball by France in the Quarter-Final. A defensive masterclass by the French knocked out the Spaniards and ended any hopes of the dream USA-Spain clash in the Final.

Final Standings

• 1. USA
  
• 2. Serbia
  
• 3. France
  

All Tournament Team

• Kyrie Irving (USA) - MVP 
• Kenneth Faried (USA) 
• Milos Teodosic (Serbia) 
• Nicolas Batum (France) 
• Pau Gasol (Spain)

World Cup Shot Clock: 24 things to look forward to for the FIBA Basketball World Cup

Over the next two weeks, some of the top basketball players in the world will face off at the FIBA World Cup, the biggest global festival of hoops. From top contenders, exciting new faces, dark-horses, and a little bit of history, here are 24 things that you need to look forward to for the World Cup.

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Nanjing 2014: Lithuania (Boys) & USA (Girls) secure 3x3 basketball golds.

The 3x3 halfcourt basketball tournament at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympics concluded in Nanjing (China) on Tuesday, August 26th. 20 teams participated in each of the men's and women's sections in the nine-day tournament. Lithuania's Boys and USA's Girls emerged as champions after victories over France and Netherlands respectively on the final day of basketball. The Youth Olympics also featured a dunk contest and a shoot-out.

Lithuania defeated France in a thrilling boys final 18-16, while the American girls had little trouble steam-rolling their way through the course of the tournament before defeating Netherlands in their final game, 19-10.

Also on the final day of 3x3 basketball, Argentina's boys won the bronze medal after defeating Russia 17-14. The girls' bronze was settled in a tight contest as Spain sneaked past Hungary for a 12-11 win.

In the boys' semi-finals, Lithuania had defeated Russia 13-10, while France - led by 10 points from Lucas Dussoulier - beat Argentina 16-14. Netherlands girls shut down Spain 11-7 in the girls' semi-final matchup, while USA beat Hungary 21-14.

Medals were also handed out for the slam dunk contest (for boys) and the shootout (for girls) at the Youth Olympics. Karim Mouliom of France won the dunk contest while Spain's Lucia Togores Carpintero was the winner of the girls's shootout.

Final medal tally

Boys Tournament

• Gold: Lithuania
  
• Silver: France
  
• Bronze: Argentina
  

Girls Tournament

• Gold: USA
  
• Silver: Netherlands
  
• Bronze: Spain
  

Boys Dunk Contest

• Gold: Karim Mouliom (France)
  
• Silver: Ziga Lah (Slovenia)
  
• Bronze: Fu Lei (China)
  

Girls Shootout Contest

• Gold: Lucia Togores Carpintero (Spain)
  
• Silver: Ela Micunovic (Slovenia)
  
• Bronze: Katie Samuelson (USA)
  

USA win fifth consecutive title at FIBA U19 World Championship for Women

USA continued their dominance in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women by winning their fifth consecutive gold (and sixth in seven) at the tournament with a final win over France at the 2013 championship in Klaipeda, Lithuania on Sunday. The American girls were undefeated in the tournament - which began back on July 18th - and dominated France with a 61-28 victory in the finale.

At the heart of their memorable final performance was their lock down defense in the second half, where USA only held France to eight points. Breanna Stewart led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Stewart was also named MVP of the tournament, following up as her finish in the All Tournament team at the competition two years ago in Chile as well.

The final was America's second win over France in the tournament, after edging them 69-63 in the Eighth-Final round stage earlier.

On Sunday, the Bronze Medal game was also held between Australia and Spain, a close-fought contest as Australia made a strong second half comeback to edge Spain 73-68. Carley Mijovic (25) and Stephanie Tolbot (22) led the way for the Australians, while Leticia Romero Gonzalez had 16 points for Spain.

A day earlier, France had edged Spain 62-58 in a thrilling semi-final using a balanced scoring attack and overcoming 27 points and 10 rebounds by Spain's Astou Ndour. In the second semi-final, USA had no trouble cruising past Australia 77-54 behind 23 points and eight rebounds by Breanna Stewart.

Final Standings

1. USA
2. France
3. Australia
4. Spain
5. China

All Tournament Team

Breanna Stewart (USA)
Olivia Epoupa (France)
Jamie Weisner (Canada)
Stephanie Talbot (Australia)
Astou Ndour (Spain)

USA win U19 FIBA World Basketball Championship for fifth time

The American basketball future - much like the American basketball present - is shining bright.

USA's under-19 Men's Basketball team defeated Serbia on Sunday night in Prague (Czech Republic) to lift the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for a record fifth time. No other team has won the tournament more than once. The USA used an impressive 13-1 run in the fourth quarter to sneak away to a 82-68 victory, thus ending the tournament undefeated.

It was Serbia's second consecutive silver medal at the tournament, after finishing as runners-up to Lithuania in 2011.

The Americans, who were dominated through the course of the tournament, were given some healthy competition for three quarters by a feisty Serbian side in the Final. Jovan Novak of Serbia was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, but the USA used a balanced attack, led by forward Montrezl Harrel (17) to slip away to victory.

USA's Aaron Gordon, who only had six points and six rebounds in the Final, was named the tournament's MVP for his efforts leading up to the Final game of the tournament. He was the finest amongst near-equals in a balanced USA team. Gordon, who is committed to the attend Arizona next season, is one of the brightest young American players and was named the MVP of the 2013 McDonald's High School All American game.

Defending champions Lithuania had to settle for the bronze medal after defeating Australia 106-100 in overtime earlier in the day. Lithuana were led by Tomas Dimsa (19) while Dante Exum (28) and Dane Pineau (20) led the way in a losing effort for the Aussies.

Earlier on the semi-finals, USA had destroyed Lithuania 100-60 in a balanced effort led by Marcus Smart. Nikola Jancovic scored 21 points to lead Serbia past Australia 63-58 in the other semi-final. Dante Exum had 20 for Australia.

Final Standings

1. USA
2. Serbia
3. Lithuania
4. Australia
5. Spain

All Tournament Team

• Jahlil Okafor (USA)
  
• Aaron Gordon (USA)
  
• Dario Saric (Croatia)
  
• Dante Exum (Australia)
  
• Vasilijie Micic (Serbia)
  

Basketball at the London Olympics: US (A) against the World

This Olympics, like almost every year, it’s USA Basketball against the world. For anyone else in ‘the world’ contingent to pull off a victory, they have to expose any weaknesses that America’s squad of uber-duper stars may have and give in their perfect performance. Here are my predictions for the upcoming international tournament!

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Spain are once again Europe's finest basketball team

Did you follow the EuroBasket? You know, that thing featuring the best basketball teams in Europe, and the best European basketball players, and some incredible hoops in Lithuania the past three weeks? No, LeBron and Kobe weren't there. They didn't need to be: as the EuroBasket 2011 proved, we have come a long way in the last two decades. Basketball in Europe was always competitive and featured high-quality, but now, it is becoming mainstream too, and in my opinion, more exciting than ever.

With the NBA lockout threatening to keep us away from high-quality basketball for a long, long time, there was no better place to see the next best thing of competitive world class hoops action than the EuroBasket. No fear, NBA-philes, for there was a healthy representation of the league in this championship. The Final of the EuroBasket featured the two teams with the most NBA players: Spain and France. What does that prove? Well, first of all, NBA teams know what the hell they are up to and are signing the world's best players. And secondly, it's showing the confidence that European players are gleaning from their time in the NBA, which is helping up dominate back home.

The champions were once again Spain, who have now won the EuroBasket for the second time in a row, and are perhaps the world's best team outside of the mighty USA, and were the only team to push the 'Redeem Team' to the brink in the 2008 Olympics. Don't worry, Spain fans, your team will get that chance again: by qualifying for the EuroBasket finals, both Spain and France also booked their place for the 2012 Olympics. USA are already there because of their World Championship victory.

But back to the EuroBasket final, though: it was a fair final, featuring two of the best teams in the competition. Spain's NBA representation came in the form of the mighty Gasol brothers (Pau and Marc), Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, and newly nationalised Serge Ibaka. Funny, because the one man this list doesn't mention is the man who was actually named MVP of the tournament, Juan Carlos Navarro.

France had the likes of Tony Parker, Joakim Noah, Nicolas Batum, Boris Diaw, and Kevin Seraphin. Mikael Pietrus, another talented French player in the NBA, missed the tournament due to injury.

The final was more or less the Navarro show, as the talented swingman carried off the momentum he had going in the semi-final to pour in 27 points and added five assists in the final. The Barcelona player known as "La Bomba" had 35 points against Macedonia in the semis just a few nights earlier. The EuroBasket MVP averaged 18.7 ppg in the course of the tournament, but saved his biggest performances for the end.

Spain led most of the way and won the game 98-85, which is quite a high-scoring result for an international game. Pau Gasol, who I still believe is Spain's most important player, seemed to be playing hobbled through the course of the tournament, but he still poured in 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Final. Gasol averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg in the tournament.

Tony Parker was easily the best point guard in Europe in the tournament, and scored 26 points in a losing effort in the Final. Parker was the leading scorer at the EuroBasket, averaging 22.1 ppg.

One of the stories of the championship was the team from Macedonia. Completely underrated, Macedonia had a fairy-tale run into the Semi-Finals, which included an incredible victory over the hosts and superpower Lithuania in the Quarter-Finals. Macedonia were led by Bo McCalebb, an American born Macedonia-nationalised player, who averaged 21.4 ppg in the course of the tournament.

And then there was Russia: a team which quietly and efficiently went about their business, losing only one game, that a semi-final to France, en-route to a third place finish in the tournament. Russia were led, as usual, by the brilliant Andrei Kirilenko (who has unfortunately not been that brilliant for the Utah Jazz over the past several years). Russia defeated Macedonia in a close game 72-68, to win third place.

The biggest disappointment of the EuroBasket was found in Spain too, and he went by the name of Ricky Rubio. Few 20-year-olds have had this many pendulum swings in individual form, team success, and public opinion than Rubio. A player who became a star at 15, was troubling the world's best at the Olympics in 2008, was drafted by the Timberwolves in 2009 and didn't show, won a lot with his club and his country, but somewhere in between, completely lost confidence and now seems to be a ghost of a player we once saw. And all this before he can legally buy himself a drink in America: which is something he should be thinking about right now, since Rubio is finally making his trip to the NBA to play for the T-Wolves when and if the Lockout ends. Rubio had a horrible championship, but hey, he was the point guard / floor general of the best team in Europe. His talent will never be statified, so I won't even try: you have to watch him play and see the team results to decide how good or bad he is.

So, to sum it up, Rubio was bad at the Euros, but he was good enough to win!

The other disappointment was Turkey, who, after a brilliant silver-medal performance at the World Championship, couldn't even make it past the group stage in this tournament, and ended at 11th place.

In the earlier rounds, players like Luol Deng for Great Britain and Dirk Nowitzki for Germany carried their teams as far as they could with good individual play - Dirk had a little more help by Chris Kaman in his side, actually.

Here are the final standings:

1. Spain

2. France

3. Russia

4. Macedona

5. Lithuania

Here is the All Tournament team:

PG: Tony Parker (France)

SG: Bo McCalebb (France)

SF: Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain) - MVP

PF: Andrei Kirilenko (Russia)

C: Pau Gasol (Spain)

Lithuania win gold at 2011 FIBA Men’s U19 World Championship

Lithuanian superstar and captain Jonas Valanciunas continued his dominant streak into the Final of the 2011 FIBA Men’s U19 World Championship to help his side secure the gold medal on Sunday night after defeating Serbia 85-67 at Riga, Latvia. This was Lithuania’s first gold medal at the event.

Lithuania went on an 18-3 run to end the third quarter which killed off the game. Valanciunas, who had been dominant throughout the tournament, finished with 36 points and 8 rebounds. The young star, who was the named the fifth pick at this year’s NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, was named MVP of the tournament after leading all players in points (23.0), rebounds (13.9), and blocks (3.2).

Earlier in the day, Russia beat Argentina 77-72 to win the bronze medal.

All Tournament Team:

Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania)

Aleksander Cvetkovic (Serbia)

Dmitry Kulagin (Russia)

Hugh Greenwood (Australia)

Jeremy Lamb (USA)

Team USA are World Basketball Champions

The americans are officially back on top of the basketball world.

After what seemed to be like an endless stream of upset losses, mediocre play, underwhelming performances, and bronze medals in the international game, Team USA completed their process of redemption by winning gold at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey. USA beat the hosts 81-64 in the final on Sunday, providing the perfect ending to an impressive unbeaten tournament. Paired with the awe-inspiring exploits of the 'Redeem Team' which won the Beijing Olympic gold in 2008, the US have left no doubts on being the best international team in the business.

But, unlike the 'Redeem Team', the World Championship squad, labelled the 'B' team by their detractors, did not arrive with the same superstar hoopla. The team had no super-duper-star except for Kevin Durant. Gone were the Dwyane Wades, the Kobe Bryants, the LeBron James', and the Carmelo Anthonies. They were replaced by the likes of Lamar Odom, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Andre Igoudala. The only other veteran presence except for Odom in this team was Chauncey Billups.

The 21-year-old Durant, the NBA's leading scorer last season (the youngest ever!) grabbed this opportunity with both hands to become the best player in the world. He ended up as the tournament's MVP, averaging 22.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during the course of the tournament. He showed up as the going got tougher, scoring 33 in the Quarter Final against Russia, 38 in the semis against Lithuania, and 28 in the final against Turkey. He was the USA's most consistent and trustworthy player, game after game, and has staked his claim to replace some of the other "stars" when USA prepare their squad for the 2012 Olympics.

Durant scored more points than any American in the World Championships ever (205) and scored more points in a single game than any American ever (38). If I had to bet today, I can see him easily becoming the NBA's MVP in the 2010-11 season.

Hosts Turkey put up a brave show, going undefeated until the final, led by Hedo Turkoglu and Ersan Ilyasova. Lithuania defeated Serbia to win the bronze medal, and both teams an excellent overall tournament. The play of the tournament would probably be Serbia's Milos Teodosic's game-winning three to shock Spain.

Speaking of: Spain were probably the biggest disappointments of the tournament. Playing without last World Championships' MVP Pau Gasol, Spain failed to really make a mark, finishing sixth, below Argentina, who were fifth. Argentina featured some amazing play by Luis Scola, who averaged 27.1 ppg (tournament leader), 7.9 rpg, and was an influence all over the court.

FIBA's team of the tournament was:

Kevin Durant (USA)
Luis Scola (Argentina)
Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey)
Linas Kleiza (Lithuania)
Milos Teodosic (Serbia)

Unfortunately, for us hoop fans in India, the World Championships were not shown on TV, because apparently fixed Pakistan-England cricket series' are more important.

The tournament was by far the most hyped World Championships ever, but it still lost a lot of credibility after many of the world's best players decided to skip it. Players such as Gasol, Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni (Argentina), Yao Ming (China), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Nene (Brazil), and Andrew Bogut (Australia) did not play. Of course, USA played without and of their Redeem Team players, such as Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, and Chris Paul.

It is sad that so many great players (by choice, fatigue, or injury) did not show up for this competition, because a tournament like this deserves to have a stature in basketball equal to the FIFA World Cup. Fortunately, the teams that did show up put up an amazing show, and Durant's heroic contributions will be remembered for years to come.