Advanced stats from the World Cup: find out who was the best player on iso, and more
MIES (Switzerland) - The Naismith Trophy has been lifted and the champagne bottles emptied. Germany are champions. Here's a look at key data that shows how teams made deep runs at the 2023 World Cup.
MIES (Switzerland) - The Naismith Trophy has been lifted, the medals presented, the champagne bottles emptied.
Germany, for the first time, are champions of the world. Gordie Herbert's team, led by tournament MVP Dennis Schroder, not only survived but thrived in First and Second Round groups of death at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and then edged Latvia, USA and Serbia to win the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
The 19th edition of FIBA's flagship event was among the most competitive ever, one that saw Serbia finish second and Canada third. The Canadians had a top-three finish for the first time in a World Cup or Olympics.
The AutoStats Data Report by Stats Perform is a good indicator of how the leading teams excelled.
Schroder a master-class with ball screens to fuel German scoring
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Germany averaged 1.448 team points per possession on ball screens when Dennis Schroder was the ball handler, the highest rate in the tournament for players with 65+ on-ball screens. One of the revelations of the World Cup, Latvia's Arturs Zagars, was No. 2 while Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanovic were third and fourth, respectively.
Top 5 points per possession on ball screens (min 65 on-ball screens):
| Player | Team Points/Possession |
| Dennis Schroder | 1.448 |
| Arturs Zagars | 1.434 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1.425 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 1.358 |
| Carlik Jones | 1.329 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
Serbia, like a well-oiled machine, had the most efficient offense
A determined Bogi is the scariest player on Earth 🤯
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 8, 2023
He finished the first half with 15 PTS, 2 REB 3 AST on 83% FG 🔥#FIBAWC x #WinForSrbija 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/d7fbMwK7q9
The Germany v Serbia Final was a clash of two efficient offenses that play at very different paces. Serbia averaged 1.219 points per possession in the tournament (third best) and Germany averaged 1.218 (fourth best), but 12.8 percent of Serbia’s possessions came in transition (third highest) while Germany was only at 8.3 percent (27th).
| Team | Team Points/Possession |
| Canada | 1.273 |
| Latvia | 1.227 |
| Serbia | 1.219 |
| Germany | 1.218 |
| United States | 1.212 |
| Lithuania | 1.179 |
| Australia | 1.15 |
| Slovenia | 1.123 |
| Spain | 1.121 |
| South Sudan | 1.116 |
| Finland | 1.101 |
| Puerto Rico | 1.089 |
| France | 1.082 |
| Brazil | 1.081 |
| Greece | 1.07 |
| Japan | 1.061 |
| Lebanon | 1.053 |
| Dominican Republic | 1.052 |
| New Zealand | 1.047 |
| Italy | 1.043 |
| Egypt | 1.038 |
| Mexico | 1.019 |
| Montenegro | 1.015 |
| China | 0.992 |
| Ivory Coast | 0.974 |
| Philippines | 0.972 |
| Angola | 0.971 |
| Georgia | 0.967 |
| Venezuela | 0.962 |
| Cape Verde | 0.931 |
| Jordan | 0.906 |
| Iran | 0.881 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
"Set me a ball screen, and I'll score"
Runners-up Serbia and Quarter-Finalists Italy relied heavily on Bogdan Bogdanovic and Simone Fontecchio, respectively, which is why the players often had off ball screens set for them. Bogdanovic, who averaged 19.1 points and 4.6 assists, had 135 off ball screens set for him in the World Cup, by far the highest number in the tournament, while Fontecchio (above) had the second most set. Fontecchio averaged 18.0 points and 1.8 assists.
Off ball Screens set for player:
| Player | Screens set |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 135 |
| Simone Fontecchio | 84 |
| Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi | 83 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
USA passed on passing yet ranked No. 1 in scoring
Making the extra pass is supposed to lead to better shots. But when the USA are concerned, think again! Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves could pass, certainly, but they also have the ability to put the ball on the deck, drive and dunk, or hit pull-up jumpers on fast breaks. The USA averaged only 114.1 passes (including only front-court, non-out-of-bounds passes) per game, the lowest among all teams. Spain averaged a tournament-high 212.4 passes. Yet the USA had the highest-scoring team at the World Cup, averaging 104.5 points, while Spain were tied at No. 11 with New Zealand at 85.8 points per game.
| Average passes per game | |
| Spain | 212.4 |
| Italy | 202 |
| Iran | 186.8 |
| Finland | 172.6 |
| Venezuela | 167.4 |
| Mexico | 162 |
| Dominican Republic | 162 |
| Latvia | 161.3 |
| Lebanon | 155.8 |
| Ivory Coast | 155.6 |
| Serbia | 155 |
| China | 154 |
| France | 150.4 |
| Angola | 150.4 |
| Greece | 150 |
| Lithuania | 143.5 |
| Brazil | 143.4 |
| Puerto Rico | 141.4 |
| Montenegro | 141.2 |
| Australia | 140.2 |
| New Zealand | 136 |
| Jordan | 135 |
| Slovenia | 134.6 |
| Georgia | 134.6 |
| Germany | 134.3 |
| Canada | 128.5 |
| Japan | 125 |
| Cape Verde | 124.4 |
| South Sudan | 123.4 |
| Egypt | 121.8 |
| Philippines | 118.4 |
| United States | 114.1 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
When Dennis the Menace got downhill, Germany profited
Germany averaged 1.625 points per possession on Schroder drives in the tournament, the highest rate among players with 25+ drives. Bogdan Bogdanovic ranked second, at 1.575. Josh Giddey, the winner of the FIBA World Cup Rising Star award, was also prolific with his drives and Australia benefited, as seen below.
Team points per possession on drives:
| Player | Team Points/Possession | Rank |
| Dennis Schroder | 1.625 | 1 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 1.575 | 2 |
| Jean Montero | 1.556 | 3 |
| Carlik Jones | 1.547 | 4 |
| Josh Giddey | 1.511 | 5 |
| Anthony Edwards | 1.261 | 17 |
| Shai Gilgeous Alexander | 1.258 | 21 |
| Luka Doncic | 1.247 | 23 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
Give Luka the ball and watch him go!
Only 49.3 percent of Luka Doncic's ball touches ended with a pass, the lowest percentage among players with 300+ touches. 63.6 percent of touches among all players in the tournament resulted in passes. Of Luka's passes, 29.7 percent resulted in shots, the highest rate in the tournament among players with 100+ passes
Bottom 5 percentage of touches ending with passes (min 300 ball touches):
| Touch ending with Pass % | |
| Luka Doncic | 49.30% |
| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | 57.50% |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 57.90% |
| Tremont Waters | 59.00% |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 59.60% |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
When the opponent knows you're shooting the rock
Opponents knew that leaving Luka Doncic open is never a good idea. That's why a whopping 92.5 percent of of his jumpers were contested at the World Cup - the highest rate at the event among players who attempted at least 20 jumpers.
Top 10 percentage of jumpers contested (min 20 jumpers):
| Jumpers contested | |
| Luka Doncic | 92.50 percent |
| Carlik Jones | 87.50 percent |
| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | 85.10 percent |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 83.30 percent |
| Ehab Amin | 82.00 percent |
| Shea Ili | 81.50 percent |
| Dennis Schroder | 80.00 percent |
| Jordan Clarkson | 79.70 percent |
| Nikola Ivanovic | 78.60 percent |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 78.40 percent |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
Shai makes 'em pay on the dribble handoff
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged .55 points per touch that originated from a dribble handoff, which was first among players who received at least 30 dribble handoffs. And he looked good doing it, too. Shai was poetry in motion.
Top 5 points per touch originated from dribble handoffs (min 30 dribble handoffs):
| Points/Touch | |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 0.55 |
| Luka Doncic | 0.37 |
| Thomas Walkup | 0.36 |
| Dennis Schroder | 0.31 |
| Marko Guduric | 0.3 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
Profiting from the Iso
Germany averaged 1.77 points per possession on possessions with a Dennis Schroder iso, the highest rate in the tournament among players with 15+ isos. Individually Schroder averaged .83 points/iso, which ranked seventh. Karl Anthony-Towns (above) of the Dominican Republic was No. 1.
Top 10 player points per Iso (min 15 iso):
| Player Points/Iso | Rank | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0.962 | 1 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 0.917 | 2 |
| Stefano Tonut | 0.889 | 3 |
| Wael Arakji | 0.880 | 4 |
| Jalen Brunson | 0.870 | 5 |
| Anthony Edwards | 0.833 | 5 |
| Dennis Schroder | 0.829 | 6 |
| Luka Doncic | 0.701 | 18 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 0.521 | 23 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
Top 10 team points per player Iso (min 15 iso):
| Team Points/Possesion | Rank | |
| Dennis Schroder | 1.771 | 1 |
| Austin Reaves | 1.733 | 2 |
| RJ Barrett | 1.522 | 3 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 1.5 | 4 |
| Stefano Tonut | 1.5 | 4 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1.284 | 17 |
| Anthony Edwards | 1.25 | 20 |
| Luka Doncic | 1.127 | 25 |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
USA guarded the perimeter
USA were criticized for not playing great defense after a few World Cup defeats. They gave up 110 points to Lithuania at the end of the Second Round, 113 points to Germany in the Semi-Final and 127 points to Canada in the Third-Place Game (which went to overtime). Yet the Americans were not just standing still with their hands in their pockets. They contested 64.5 percent of the jumpers they faced in the tournament, the highest rate at the World Cup. Serbia, who reached the Final, ranked 24th after contesting just 50.5 percent of the jumpers they faced.
| Jumpers Contested | |
| United States | 64.5 percent |
| Lithuania | 63.9 percent |
| Germany | 62.1 percent |
| Dominican Republic | 61.5 percent |
| Canada | 60.7 percent |
| France | 60.1 percent |
| Latvia | 59.5 percent |
| Egypt | 58.7 percent |
| Venezuela | 58.6 percent |
| Finland | 57.9 percent |
| Greece | 56.4 percent |
| Australia | 55.7 percent |
| Spain | 55.3 percent |
| Georgia | 54.8 percent |
| Puerto Rico | 54.8 percent |
| Italy | 54.5 percent |
| Brazil | 54.2 percent |
| Montenegro | 53.7 percent |
| New Zealand | 52.9 percent |
| Philippines | 52 percent |
| Mexico | 51.9 percent |
| Angola | 51.3 percent |
| Jordan | 51.2 percent |
| Serbia | 50.5 percent |
| China | 49.5 percent |
| Iran | 48.1 percent |
| Cape Verde | 47.3 percent |
| Slovenia | 47.2 percent |
| Ivory Coast | 46.9 percent |
| Japan | 45.8 percent |
| Lebanon | 43.6 percent |
| South Sudan | 38.5 percent |
AutoStats data collected by Stats Perform
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