By Dionysis Aravantinos / @AravantinosDA
BEIJING – After two weeks of extremely competitive basketball, and a lot of memorable moments, the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was finished with Spain capturing the gold medal. Many great players participated in the event, including 55 NBAers. Eurohoops presents the ten players who shined in the competition, starting from number ten.
#10: Donovan Mitchell / Team USA
Stats: 13.1 PPG (46.6 FG%), 5.0 APG, 4.3 RPG
Team’s position: 7th
Team USA’s run in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China ended quickly with a quarter-final loss to France in Dongguan. That loss was followed by yet another loss to Serbia in the 5-8 ranked games. Eventually, Gregg Popovich’s team was ranked seventh in the World Cup, after finishing the tournament with a win over Poland. Donovan Mitchell was Team USA’s best player, and leader on and off the court. The 23-year old guard was the team’s second-leading scorer with 13.1 points per game, while he also handed out 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.
His best game even came against France in the quarter-finals, where he exploded for 29 points and six rebounds. Unfortunately for the Americans, none of his teammates helped him down the stretch, and eventually they got knocked out by Rudy Gobert and France. Finally, he ended his first World Cup appearance with a double-double (16 points / 10 assists) in USA’s final game vs. Poland.
#9: Tomas Satoransky / Czech Republic
Stats: 15.5 PPG (45.7 FG%), 8.5 APG, 5.6 RPG
Team’s position: 6th
The Chicago Bulls hit the lottery with the free agency signing of Tomas Satoransky. The leader of the Czech Republic national team had an amazing World Cup tournament, both individually and on a team level. The ‘Cinderella’ story of the FIBA World Cup belonged to the Czechs, and Satoransky was a big reason why. In their first-ever World Cup appearance, they were placed in the sixth position.
Satoransky, 27 even led the tournament in assists with 8.5 per game. Besides that, he was the team’s leading scorer with 15.5 points on 45.7% shooting from the field and added 5.6 rebounds. In two games, Satoransky flirted with the first-ever triple-double. Against Greece, in the second round he finished the game with 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, while against Australia in the quarter-finals, he missed it by one rebound.
#8: Rudy Gobert / France
Stats: 10.1 PPG (62.8 %FG), 9.1 RPG, 1.8 APG
Team’s position: 3rd
Rudy Gobert’s FIBA World Cup had its ups and downs. Up until the semi-finals, Gobert was dominating all centers around the competition. Against the States in the quarter-finals, he was France’s best player with 21 points and 16 huge rebounds. In the semi-final, however, he was up against Luis Scola and Argentina. The Defensive Player of the Year managed to only score three points, while Scola exploded for 28.
Despite his bad performance in the semi-final, Gobert led the tournament in rebounds per game (9.1), while he also scored in double-digits (10.1) with very high shooting percentages (62.8% FG). Eventually, the tournament was a success for Gobert, as France captured back-to-back bronze medals.
#7: Patty Mills / Australia
Stats: 22.8 PPG (49.6% FG), 3.9 APG, 2.3 RPG
Team’s position: 4th
Patty Mills’ situation is similar to Rudy Gobert’s. Mills was unstoppable on the offensive side of the court all tournament long, averaging a fourth-best 22.8 points per game. The San Antonio Spurs guard led his team to the semi-finals with impressive wins over Lithuania and the Czech Republic. And while in the semi-final, Mills exploded for 34 points (seven three-pointers), he missed some crucial free throws down the stretch, and also had a couple of costly turnovers. Eventually, Australia was kicked off by Spain.
Mills was the most electric scorer of the tournament, and a crowd favorite. Unfortunately for Australia, in the third-place game, he was limited to 15 points and two assists.
#6: Facundo Campazzo – Argentina
Stats: 13.3 PPG (41.8 FG%), 7.8 APG, 4.3 RPG
Team’s position: 2nd
Facundo Campazzo’s improvement over the years has been incredible. Entering his prime at 28, Real Madrid‘s point-guard had an all-around perfect outing in China with Argentina. By many experts, Sergio Hernandez’s squad was the surprise of the tournament, as they reached the final. Campazzo’s playmaking skills were unreal, providing fans some exciting highlight plays, behind-the-back passes, and sensational dribbling skills.
His averages were also pretty exciting, as he put up 13.3 points and 7.8 assists per game. Besides that, he even grabbed 4.3 rebounds at 5’9”.
#5: Evan Fournier / France
Stats: 19.8 PPG (42.0% FG), 3.8 RPG, 3.0 APG
Team’s position: 3rd
Evan Fournier was one of the best scorers in the tournament. He was France first option. The 26-year old Orlando Magic guard averaged 19.8 points per game while having great games against Team USA and Australia. Despite winning his second bronze medal in a World Cup, or making the All-Star Five, Fournier wanted more. His media comments after France’s win over Australia for the third place were remarkably interesting.
His mentality, work ethic and love for the game of basketball add to the fact that he was one of the most prolific scorers of the competition. Fournier’s maturity has reached a level of turning into Orlando’s go-to-guy on a winning playoff team.
#4: Bogdan Bogdanovic / Serbia
Stats: 22.9 PPG (55.6% FG), 4.4 APG, 4.1 RPG
Team’s position: 5th
If Serbia finished in the top-4, Bogdan Bogdanovic could’ve been named the MVP of the tournament. Individually, he had an unbelievable tournament, proving why Sacramento is lucky to have him. Bogdanovic averaged a tournament-high 22.9 points per game while shooting unreal percentages from the field and the three-point line. He made 53% of his three-pointers, scoring more threes than seven national teams.
The Kings could be in playoff contention next season and Bogdanovic’s improvement could positively affect the team’s chances. Bogdanovic was part of the All-Star Five, being the only player from a team that didn’t reach the semi-finals.
#3: Luis Scola / Argentina
Stats: 17.9 PPG (43.4% FG), 8.1 RPG, 1.8 APG
Team’s position: 2nd
At 39, Luis Scola was the third-best player in China’s FIBA World Cup. Scola was legendary prior to this tournament, but after leading Argentina to the final in Beijing, his legend grew even more. In the semi-final vs. France and the NBA’s best defensive player, Rudy Gobert, the 39-year old had an incredible performance of 28 points and 13 rebounds. Scola was limited to just eight points in the final against Spain, but his performances overall were exceptional.
He was named to the All-Star Five and even set a World Cup record. Since the start of the summer, Scola was practicing and preparing individually for this tournament. Hard work… indeed pays off.
#2: Marc Gasol / Spain
Stats: 14.4 PPG (42.5% FG), 5.5 RPG, 4.1 APG
Team’s position: 1st
Marc Gasol’s 2019 calendar year has been incredible. Back in June, he managed to win the NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors, and now in September, he won the FIBA Basketball World Cup with Spain, adding to his insane medal collection with the national team. Gasol was great for Sergio Scariolo on and off the court. His experience, his defensive skills, as well as his high basketball IQ (4.1 APG) helped Spain capture the gold medal.
Even though his individual stats weren’t as high as someone would expect, he still had a tremendous impact on his team. His performance in Spain’s double-overtime victory over Australia was one for the ages. Gasol was clutch down the stretch, finishing with 33 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Even before the World Cup, Juancho Hernangomez praised Gasol, stating how great of an opportunity this tournament is for him to learn things from the veteran.
Gasol was named in the All-Star Five, and many media members even voted for him as the MVP of the tournament.
#1: Ricky Rubio / Spain
Stats: 16.4 PPG (43.6% FG), 6.0 APG, 4.6 RPG
Team’s position: 1st
Who else could top our list? The MVP of the tournament, Ricky Rubio deservingly places number one in our top-10 players’ list. Rubio has been a professional basketball player since he was 14 years old. 14 years later, he became Spain’s go-to-guy and led his team to a gold medal in a FIBA World Cup.
In the games that mattered most, the Phoenix Suns guard came up big for Sergio Scariolo. In the quarter-finals against Poland, he flirted with a double-double (19 points and nine assists), while in the semi-final, he scored 19 points and handed out 12 assists. The cherry on top, however, came in the final against Argentina, where he scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
At 28, Rubio even became the World Cup leader in assists. Eventually, he was named to the All-Star Five and won the Most Valuable Player award trophy.
Photo Credits: FIBA.Basketball