By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The recent announcement that three Antetokounmpos will be at Greece’s training camp at the start of the country’s FIBA Basketball World Cup preparations reinforced the notion that this will be a tournament of brothers.
Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo have already played together in a Greece team, doing so at the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin.
New Zealand are likely to have Corey Webster and his younger brother, Tai, for the second straight World Cup. Nigeria have had Al Farouq and Alade Aminu in many of their teams, while Spain are expected to have the Hernangomez siblings, Willy and Juancho, in theirs. Both played at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, as did two others that could be in their country’s side in China, Russia’s Kulagin brothers, Dimitrii and Mikhail.
Venezuela are likely to have national team stalwarts Greg and Jose Vargas, and Canada could choose to include Phil and Thomas Scrubb. Poland could even give a nod to Marcelo Ponitka, allowing him to accompany brother Mateusz to Beijing.
Here are some of the most famous brothers that have competed together at World Cups before.
2006 – Pau and Marc Gasol, Spain
While Pau was the MVP of the tournament staged in Japan, where Spain captured the title, his younger brother Marc was a key late addition. Marc has said the opportunity served as a spark for his career.
2006 – Florent and Mickael Pietrus, France
The Pietrus brothers played big minutes for France in Japan, where Les Bleus claimed a fifth-place finish. Florent was the team’s leading rebounder at 6.7 per game.
2006 – Ksystof and Darjus Lavrinovic, Lithuania
The twin brothers from Vilnius were centers in a national team that survived Hamamatsu’s group of death (Group C) and reached the Quarter-Finals before falling to eventual champions Spain. Darjus was the team’s third leading scorer at 11.2 points per game while Ksystof was fifth at 6.3ppg.
2006 – Joji and Kosuke Takeuchi, Japan
The World Cup hosts had the Takeuchi twins as centers in their team which lost all five of its games in Hiroshima. They would go on to represent the country for more than a decade after the event.
2014 – Goran and Zoran Dragic, Slovenia
Goran and Zoran Dragic dazzled in the Group Phase in Gran Canaria, leading Slovenia to four wins in five games. The dynamic duo then fired the team to a 71-61 victory over the Dominican Republic, which earned Slovenia a Quarter-Final date with the United States. Their World Cup dream ended in a 119-76 defeat to the Americans. The brothers averaged a combined 28.9 points per game.
2014 – Corey and Tai Webster, New Zealand
Corey and Tai Webster electrified the arena in Bilbao, helping the Tall Blacks advance to the Round of 16. Corey was particularly good against Turkey on opening day, pouring in 22 points, and also in the knockout round with 26 in a 76-71 setback to Lithuania.
1986 – Drazen and Aleksandar Petrovic, Yugoslavia
The Mozart of Basketball, the late Drazen Petrovic, averaged 25.2 points per game at the event staged in Spain where Yugoslavia won eight of 10 games and finished third. His brother, Aleksandar, averaged 11.4ppg at the tournament. He will coach Brazil at the World Cup in China.
2002 – Zakhar and Evgeni Pashutin, Russia
Zakhar was Russia’s leading scorer in Indianapolis, at 16.0 points per game. He drilled 42.9 percent (18 of 42) of his attempts from the arc. His older brother, Evgeni, later coached Russia at FIBA EuroBasket 2015 in Montpellier.
Source: FIBA