The FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Star 5 Revealed
Of the 384 players selected to represent the 32 national teams competing in this year’s FIBA World Cup, five stood out above the rest, earning All-Star 5 honors.
All-Star 5 Team: Dennis Schröder (Germany)
The German Captain led his team to their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medal, surpassing the achievements of German legend, Dirk Nowitzki, who achieved a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship (as the World Cup was known back then) and silver in EuroBasket 2005.
Dennis was named Tournament MVP and his top 10 plays from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 are a worthy watch:
MVP Top 10 Plays - Dennis Schroder - Germany - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
As detailed in our article about the 2023 FIBA World Cup MVP, Dennis outperformed his career scoring averages in 6 out of the 8 games Germany went unbeaten in, on their road to title glory. He took over in the World Cup Final against Serbia, scoring 28 points after making just one field goal in the first quarter. In the last minute of the game, he put his team on his back, attacking the defense and not settling for jump shots. He got to the charity stripe twice and scored a layup to put Germany up by 4 with 21 seconds left in the game.
Watch highlights from the World Cup Final below.
All-Star 5 Team: Dennis Schröder 2023 FIBA World CupTournament Average Stats
- 19.1 points (joint 13th)
- 6.1 assists (joint 11th)
- 2.0 rebounds (joint 210th)
- 1.4 steals per game (joint 39th)
All-Star 5 Team: Bogdan Bogdanović (Serbia)
If Serbia had tasted victory in the Final, there is little doubt that Bogdan Bogdanović would have been crowned the tournament MVP. Known as a solid role player in the NBA with the ability to go on hot scoring streaks, ‘Bogi’ is a different beast in the Sebia jersey, inspiring the Eagles’incredible run to the Final that was achieved without NBA Finals MVP and Champion, Nikola Jokić.
Bogdanović, the Serbia Captain, followed up his 2019 FIBA World Cup scoring title by leading his team in points scored (153 in total, 56 more than his next teammate) and efficiency. He ended the tournament with an identical 19.1 points per game average to that of Dennis Schröder, but in the Final when it mattered most, Bogdanović was only able to put up 10 field goal attempts and get to the line once, finishing on 17 points.
Regardless of the outcome, Bogdanović has cemented his place as a FIBA World Cup legend with back-to-back World Cup All-Star 5 appearances. This ensured the streak of Serbia guards in the top 5 tournament players will continue into the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, to be held in Qatar. In 2010 and 2014, his legendary compatriot, Miloš Teodosić, made the cut.
Rewatch Serbia’s Semi-Final victory over Canada below, where Bogdan Bogdanović led all scorers with 23 points:
All-Star 5 Team: Bogdan Bogdanović 2023 FIBA World Cup Average Stats
- 19.1 points (joint 13th)
- 4.6 assists (30th)
- 3.3 rebounds (joint 125th)
- 2.1 steals per game (joint 6th)
All-Star Five Team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada)
SGA, as he is widely known, led Canada to their first-ever World Cup medal in his debut tournament. An effortless three-level scorer, Shai was clear of the entire field when it came to efficiency, with an average rating of 30.4. His closest competitor in this category was Japan Center, Joshua Hawkinson, who did most of his work directly in front of the rim.
At 25 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is the star player of a young Canadian core coming into its prime ahead of more medal potential at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the 2027 Qatar World Cup.
SGA was only second to his All-Star running mate, Luka Dončić, for average points per game. He dropped 30+ in three games, saving his best performance for the Bronze medal game against USA, with a double-double game MVP stat line of 31 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard was a steal or two away from being a top 10 player in points, assists and steals.
Check out highlights of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point MVP performance against defending champions, Spain, in the second group phase:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Spain v Canada
All-Star 5 Team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2023 FIBA World Cup Average Stats
- 24.5 points (2nd)
- 6.4 assists (10th)
- 6.4 rebounds (26th)
- 1.6 steals per game (11th)
All-Star 5 Team: Anthony Edwards (USA)
Anytime USA doesn’t medal (which is becoming more frequent than not) it will be deemed a disappointing campaign. One player who shone for the States was Anthony Edwards. The 22-year-old adapted well to a role and coaching style that was new to the entire squad. The ‘Ant-Man’ averaged 26 minutes per contest, which was at least 2 minutes less court time than others on this esteemed list.
He was the star of the deep stars-and-stripes squad in three games. His stand-out individual performance came in the shock Second Group Phase defeat to Lithuania, where Edwards put up 35 points and sank five 3-pointers. He took 26 shots that night, 11 above his tournament average and five more than his previous season average for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A pre-tournament favorite for MVP, it’s not hard to see why FIBA put him on the All-Star list, with Edwards shining brightest among the USA’s star power. USA gave up a record number of points on their final three games, with coach Steve Kerr choosing to switch defensive assignments on every possession. Edwards ended the tournament as a +66 in the +/- column, with his only blemish a team low -20 against Canada, despite scoring 24 points on the other end.
Rumors are swirling that USA Basketball will be calling on their established NBA superstars for next year’s Paris 2024 charge, with names such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durrant being mentioned. It remains to be seen if Anthony Edwards fits the role of a role player in that context. He’ll be 26 when the next World Cup rolls around, so unless the USA selection committee decides to change strategy and keep its core together, this might be the first and last sighting of Ant-Man at a major FIBA tournament.
A strong and crafty finisher, his trademark athleticism and power produced plenty of highlight dunks. Watch the best 25 dunks of the tournament below, where you’ll find Anthony Edwards in the Top 10 picks:
Top 25 Dunks - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
All-Star 5 Team: Anthony Edwards 2023 FIBA World Cup Average Stats
- 18.9 points (15th)
- 2.8 assists (79th)
- 4.6 rebounds (60th)
- 1.1 steals per game (joint 61st)
All-Star 5 Team: Luka Dončić (Slovenia)
The Slovenian superstar has the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup scoring title to add to his FIBA World Cup All-Star Five status. A total of 216 points puts him in a class of only 11 players ever to score a double century or more in a single World Cup campaign.
Perhaps even more impressive than his human highlight reel status, was the persistence and pride Dončić displayed representing his country. After his team came up short in the Quarter-Finals against Canada, Luka played 37 & 38 minutes in two Classification Games with not a lot riding on the results.
Luka started the tournament with a bang, scoring 37 versus Venezuela and following it up with 34 against Georgia. As the competition level increased, the lack of depth in this Slovenia squad became more apparent. Teams consistently schemed for him on defense and put him in physical matchups that would wear him down over the course of every game. He reached breaking point in the game against Canada that saw him and Dillion Brooks ejected on separate occasions for technical fouls. In Luka’s case, it was for complaining to the officials about non-foul calls. In his post-match press conference, Dončić admitted it was a weakness in his game that he needs to work on.
Aside from taking breaks on defense, it may be the only remaining weakness in his game. We saw the full repertoire on display during the 2023 World Cup, including several other worldly no-look dimes. He flirted with a first ever World Cup triple-double on several occasions but was never able to hit the magic 10 assist mark. Thankfully for Luka fans, Slovenia signed off with a win to claim a 7th place finish.
Max subscribers should check out the post-game scenes in our Daily Recap of the Italy game, where Luka gave his game MVP award to local fans who’s young son was named Luka after the Slovenian superstar.
Down several key players due to pre-tournament injuries, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Slovenia to medal and match their gold medal at the 2017 EuroBasket championships. Luka was 18 at the time with Goran Dragic in the backcourt alongside him. It remains to be seen if Slovenia will produce the same talent levels that captured the country’s only ever gold medal at a major men’s senior event during the remainder of Dončić’s career. What goes without question is that if Luka is healthy, Luka will suit up for Slovenia for their Olympic Qualifiers next summer and when his #77 number is called by Slovenia for future FIBA competitions.
All-Star 5 Team: Luka Dončić 2023 FIBA World Cup Average Stats
- 27 points (1st)
- 6.1 assists (joint 11th)
- 7.1 rebounds (21st)
- 2.5 steals per game (3rd)
Thanks for reading and enjoy our All-Star presentation video below!
All Star 5 - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
