FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Power Rankings: Volume I, who are the favorites?

MIES (Switzerland) - The Qualifiers are done and dusted, it's time to move on to the real thing. The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is approaching quickly and it's time for the first edition of the Power Rankings.

The Power Rankings are in no way an official ranking system but do represent the assessment from the author for each team of finishing high or low at the summit in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The World Cup tips off on August 25.

And this first volume of the Rankings should be considered as a very early predictions.

#32 Cape Verde

Number of World Cup appearances: 1st appearance
Best result: 1st appearance
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 64th

The feel-good story of the African Qualifiers, Cape Verde became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, snatching Montenegro's record from 2019. Even though they are just around the half-million mark in population, the guys on the court have some real international experience, with Edy Tavares and Ivan Almeida being the one-two punch. Don't count them out just because they are #32 here.

#31 Iran

Number of World Cup appearances: 4th appearance
Best result: 19th in 2010
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 22nd

Iran did not have a lot of fun in the Asian Qualifiers, especially not in the Second Round, where they suffered a pair of 30+ point defeats. But at 6-6, they stayed a win ahead of Kazakhstan in their group, snatching that fourth place behind Australia, China and Japan.

#30 Egypt

Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
Best result: 5th in 1950
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 55th

Trivia time: There was a time when Egypt had one of the strongest European teams. Back in the 1940s, Egypt reached the podium twice at the FIBA EuroBasket, and reached the Top 5 status at the World Cup in 1950. Those times are long in the past now, but at least Egypt are back at the global stage, getting their second World Cup ticket in the last three events. They were 0-5 in Spain in 2014, so the mission now would be to get that first W in WC since 1994.

#29 Angola

Number of World Cup appearances: 9th appearance
Best result: 9th in 2006
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 41st

To be fair, this is probably a bit too low for Angola because their second place in the African Qualifiers Group E is a bit tricky. They were 2-2 in their first four games, then went on an eight-game winning streak to put zero doubt in boarding that plane toward the summit. Five of those eight straight wins were by double digits, too. They should've been higher than #29... or lower, which depends on which direction you're reading this power ranking.

#28 Jordan

Number of World Cup appearances: 3rd appearance
Best result: 23rd in 2010
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 33rd

Third time's the charm? Jordan played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010 in Turkey and lost all five games. Jordan played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and lost all three games. Once they arrive in the Philippines, be sure they will give it their best shot to finally pick up their first win. Then, second. Third. Fourth... Why not?

#27 Cote d'Ivoire

Number of World Cup appearances: 5th appearance
Best result: 13th in 1982 and 1986
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 42nd

Two-time FIBA AfroBasket winners are coming out of the African Qualifiers as the best team from Group E, finishing with a sweep over Angola to claim the top spot. They've been to two of the last three FIBA Basketball World Cup events, meaning they are getting that consistency up to a higher level in major events. Keep in mind that they played in the Final of the FIBA AfroBasket in 2021. That's what happens when you make your presence at big events a regularity.

#26 Lebanon

Number of World Cup appearances: 4th appearance
Best result: 16th in 2002
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 43rd

Sure, Japan, China, and Australia were all in the other group of the Qualifiers, but still, Lebanon finishing second in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers is impressive. They kept Jordan and the Philippines behind them, and now they are back on the global scene for the first time since 2010. Another thing to keep in mind - Lebanon were just two points behind Australia in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 Final.

#25 Montenegro

Number of World Cup appearances: 2nd appearance
Best result: 25th in 2019
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 18th

They lost their "smallest nation to ever qualify for a FIBA Basketball World Cup event" title to Cape Verde this February. But hey, now they get the "smallest nation to get back-to-back FIBA Basketball World Cup appearances" honors next to their name. They were 25th four years ago, collecting a single win in five games. The idea now would be to get at least two - or three. The team has improved and Nikola Vucevic is back.

#24 South Sudan

Number of World Cup appearances: 1st appearance
Best result: 1st appearance
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 62nd

Get this: South Sudan are making their debut, but having them at 24 in these Power Rankings may actually be a bit too low. Luol Deng's men went 11-1 (!) in the African Qualifiers, and are one of the best stories in all of basketball, ready to shock the entire planet once they arrive in the Philippines. Keep an eye on them. They aren't here to fool around.

#23 Georgia

Number of World Cup appearances: 1st appearance
Best result: 1st appearance
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 32nd

Don't be fooled by the fact it's their first appearance, Georgia have been a relevant figure in European basketball for a number of years now, reaching the Round of 16 in FIBA EuroBasket twice over the last five editions. With Tornike Shengelia, Giorgi Shermadini, and Thaddus McFadden, they have a core that's been together for what seems like an eternity.

#22 Philippines

Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
Best result: 3rd in 1954
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 40th

The hosts are getting excited for the summer. Jordan Clarkson played a couple of games with the team last summer, getting 27 and 23 points in those two, with 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game also to his name, proving he could be one of the stars of 2023. Just imagine the madness if Clarkson and Co. get the entire nation behind them at home... Chills. Just chills.

#21 China

Number of World Cup appearances: 10th appearance
Best result: 8th in 1994
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 27th

Not reaching the sweet sixteen as hosts four years ago was a major disappointment. But now, China get to play without the pressure of hosting the World Cup, which could make them a dangerous team to face. They went 10-2 through the Qualifiers, sweeping their way through the Second Round, finishing just a win behind Australia. That's how good they can be.

#20 Puerto Rico

Number of World Cup appearances: 15th appearance
Best result: 4th in 1990
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 20th

Yeah, no need to explain anything with these guys. The lower you put them, the more you underestimate them, and the stronger they react and go on to be one of the most clutch teams of the entire World Cup. They've done it over and over again, including four years ago in China, when they were losing to the U20 Croatia team in a preparation game before the event, and then stormed through to a fifteen-placed finish. Don't count them out.

#19 Latvia

Number of World Cup appearances: 1st appearance
Best result: 1st appearance
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 29th

They missed out on qualifying four years ago, in a do-or-die game against Montenegro, but left nothing in the air this time around, cruising to a 9-1 record in their group of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. That's 9-1 against these guys: Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, and Great Britain. Coach Luca Banchi saw his guys win 11 games in a row, and the only reason why they aren't a Top 15 team here is their lack of experience at the global stage.

#18 Venezuela

Number of World Cup appearances: 5th appearance
Best result: 11th in 1990
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 17th

The winners of the FIBA AmeriCup in 2015 still haven't cooled down from the heights of reaching the 2016 Olympics. They got back to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019, ending a 13-year-long drought, and then went on to stun the host China and advance to the sweet sixteen stage. An 8-4 campaign in the Americas Qualifiers was just good enough to hold off Argentina in the battle for the top three positions in their group.

#17 Mexico

Number of World Cup appearances: 6th appearance
Best result: 8th in 1967
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 31st

Winners of the FIBA AmeriCup in 2013, with two more Semi-Finals appearances after that and a sixth place last year, Mexico know their way around the Americas. They were close to reaching the most recent Tokyo Olympics, finishing third at the FIBA OQT in Split, Croatia, and they went 8-4 in the Qualifiers now, making it look like they could repeat the success of 2014, when they made the Round of 16.

#16 New Zealand

Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
Best result: 4th in 2002
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 26th

Playing in the FIBA Asia Cup turned out to be a great move for New Zealand. The Tall Blacks finished fourth in 2017 and third in 2022, and they've been flirting with a last 16 spot in World Cup ever since their fourth-place finish in 2002. They went 8-2 during the Asian Qualifiers, winning their group and easily advancing to another global event. Think about it, they were just six points away from upsetting Giannis Antetokounmpo and reaching the second round in 2019. It could happen now.

#15 Lithuania

Number of World Cup appearances: 6th appearance
Best result: 3rd in 2010
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 8th

Okay, the Qualifiers went by smoothly, and Lithuania extended their streak of World Cup appearances to five straight. But here's the problem. They aren't performing as powerfully as usual in big events, with a 15th place finish at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, missing out on the 2020 Olympics, missing out on the Quarter-Finals in 2019 (World Cup) and 2017 (EuroBasket)... They are always here, but they haven't been to a major tournament Semi-Final for eight years now.

#14 Japan

Number of World Cup appearances: 6th appearance
Best result: 11th in 1967
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 36th

They are in an awesome position. They get to host the first part of the World Cup, get to use all of their crowd's energy to advance to the next round, and escape just before being the host becomes a heavy burden. Japan are expecting to have Yuta Watanabe, and a five-game winning streak to end the Asian Qualifiers must feel good for coach Tom Hovasse. Probably a strong candidate for the coach of the World Cup, if there were to be such an award, of course.

#13 Italy

Number of World Cup appearances: 10th appearance
Best result: 4th in 1970 and 1978
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 10th

Got a feeling this #13 will soon turn into #10, and then when we get caught up in all the SIMONEFONTECCHIO madness, probably #8, then coach Gianmarco Pozzecco will give his credit card to the players again, and slowly but surely, we'll have Italy in Top 5 just before the World Cup. It's been 19 years since their last podium at a major event, feels like that drought could end any summer now.

#12 Dominican Republic

Number of World Cup appearances: 4th appearance
Best result: 12th in 1978
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 23rd

Yep, showing respect to the team that stunned full-strength Argentina in the last game of the Americas Qualifiers and kept the 2019 runners-up out of the World Cup for the first time since 1982. Oh, and the Dominican Republic beat them on the road, too, stunning the crowd in Mar del Plata. Let's not talk about what-ifs in Karl-Anthony Towns and focus on Jean Montero instead - the 19-year-old who had 61 points in 60 minutes of work in his last three games ofthe Qualifiers. Montero is electric, for sure.

#11 Finland

Number of World Cup appearances: 2nd appearance
Best result: 22nd in 2014
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 24th

The first European country to claim their tickets for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Finland are living their best days when it comes to this sport. Lauri Markkanen is a global star now, the culture of Finnish fans flying en masse all over the world is inspiring, and the fact that they reached the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Quarter-Finals and host the next FIBA EuroBasket makes you want to move to Finland straight away as a basketball fan.

#10 Brazil

Number of World Cup appearances: 19th appearance
Best result: winners in 1959 and 1963
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 13th

A team that has reached every single World Cup so far deserves a top-ten place, any time. Brazil shared an 8-4 record with three other teams, just behind USA in the first place of the Americas Qualifiers, and their transition to a younger generation is going by so smoothly with Marcelinho Huertas, Vitor Benite and Rafael Hettsheimer also there to provide experience. Just the way it's supposed to be, veterans + prime guys like Bruno Caboclo + prospects and youngsters = success.

#9 Greece

Number of World Cup appearances: 9th appearance
Best result: 2nd in 2006
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 9th

All about nines with Greece. Ninth appearance, ninth in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE, ninth in the Power Rankings. They had no stress in reaching the World Cup, and Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly enjoyed the fact that guys like Dimitris Moraitis and Nikos Rogkavopoulos took down Serbia with one of the youngest Greek lineups ever. Greece could be trouble. Dimitris Itoudis wants to get them back to the heights of mid 2000s, when they were a regular customer on podiums everywhere.

#8 Serbia

Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
Best result: winners in 1998, 2002 (as FR Yugoslavia)
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 6th

They are a loaded team, they still have Nikola Jokic as arguably the best player in the world right now, but they also have some demons in their closets. Serbia were number one in the Power Rankings four years ago as the main pretender to win the whole thing, only to finish fifth. They were supposed to be a contender at the 2020 Olympics, but failed to reach that stage, losing to Italy at home in the FIBA OQT. And then, they were on cruise control in the group stage at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, before being eliminated before the Quarter-Finals. Impossible to know what you're going to get from these guys. Impossible.

#7 Germany

Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
Best result: 3rd in 2002
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 11th

Don't think of Germany as the team that got knocked out in the First Round four years ago. Don't think of them as the team that failed to qualify for the event in 2014, and finished only 17th in 2010. Think of them as a team that finished third at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and as a team that muscled through to the Quarter-Finals of the Olympics last time around. Yep. When you put it that way, don't be surprised if they end up on the podium in September.

#6 Canada

Number of World Cup appearances: 15th appearance
Best result: 6th in 1978 and 1982
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 15th

These guys went 11-1 in the Americas Qualifiers. They are also a nation with the highest number of active NBA players (outside of USA), and their ambition is to finally lay down a footprint on the international scene. They were unlucky to be in a loaded part of the draw four years ago, and even though they are in another loaded group once again, the outlook of their potential roster is great. A lot of positives for a side that hasn't been in the Top 8 of a global event since the 2000 Olympics.

#5 Slovenia

Number of World Cup appearances: 4th appearance
Best result: 7th in 2014
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 7th

Let's ignore the shocking defeat to Poland in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022. Of all the NBA stars, Luka Doncic probably has the smoothest transition to international basketball, and you can be sure we will be scrolling through the record books in August and September to find the previous triple-doubles and scoring records. The fact that Japan selected Slovenia to play the first phase in Okinawa speaks volumes of the respect these guys have on a global level.

#4 Australia

Number of World Cup appearances: 13th appearance
Best result: 4th in 2019
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 3rd

Semi-Finals at the Olympics in 2016 and 2021, Semi-Finals at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, with two FIBA Asia Cup titles in between - these guys from Australia forgot what it's like to fail in a major event. With the Final Round in the Philippines this summer, we could get a record number of Aussie fans in the stands too, which would be a perfect way of celebrating this magnificent generation that took the Boomers to #3 in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE.

#3 France

Number of World Cup appearances: 9th appearance
Best result: 3rd in 2014 and 2019
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 5th

With Nando De Colo and Nicolas Batum back in the squad, Head Coach Vincent Collet could have the same core team that had an amazing tournament two summers ago in Tokyo. A lot of experience and medals on this team. Expect them to be better than last year when they captured the silver at the EuroBasket 2022.

#2 Spain

Number of World Cup appearances: 13th appearance
Best result: winners in 2006 and 2019
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 1st

Not a lot to say about the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 champions and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 title holders. Spain are a monster of a team, and even if they show up with U12 players, you know they'll run the same sets, do the same defensive tricks, and have the same chemistry as any other team with ESPANA emblazoned on the chest. They don't have the universal superstars like before, but hey, who cares, they are Spain and you're probably trailing by 10 at warm-up already.

#1 USA 

Number of World Cup appearances: 19th appearance
Best result: winners in 1954, 1986, 1994, 2010, and 2014
FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE: 2nd

No official announcement from USA Basketball yet. But we've been reading the news and hearing the rumors... The fact that they lost at the last FIBA Basketball World Cup makes an even stronger case to keep USA at number one in the Power Rankings. They remained at the top of the Olympic world, and now they need to hit the "delete" button to the 2019 memories and charge towards their sixth gold in World Cup history. In meme terms, it's about to become personal with them.

*The power rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.

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