Who are the best ballers in U17 World Cup history? No. 15-11

MIES (Switzerland) - Some of the best players in the world have shown their promise early in their careers at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup over the life of the competition since 2010. Here are the Top 20 biggest names and how they performed in the event and beyond as professionals.

Here is a look at places 16-20 plus Honorable mentions

Here is the second installment with places 15-11

15 Bruno Fernando - Angola - 2014

Bruno Fernando at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2014

Fernando played for his country for the first time at the U17 World Cup in 2014 and turned 16 during the tournament. He averaged 9.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, picking up four double-doubles. After a slow start to the tournament, the big man from Luanda collected 12 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks against United States. He followed that with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks against Greece.

Fernando was limited to 10 points and 7 rebounds in a Round of 16 loss to Canada - the last time he would score in double figures. He had 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks against United Arab Emirates; 8 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks versus Italy; and 7 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in a final win over Greece for 11th place. 

 

Fernando played again in the youth level two summers later at the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2016 with 18.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists to make the All-Star Five as Angola won the title. That summer also saw him debut in Angola's senior team at FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2016 with 3.5 points and 5.0 rebounds.

He did not wear the Angola jersey again until the FIBA Basketbal World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers in August 2022. Fernando played for Angola at the FIBA World Cup last summer and averaged 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks.

Fernando spent two seasons in college basketball at Maryland and then was selected with the 34th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the first Angola player selected in the draft. After two seasons with Atlanta, he split the 2021-22 season with Boston and Houston and then the 2022-23 season with Houston and Atlanta.

This season he played 45 games with Atlanta and averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. 

14: Dante Exum - Australia - 2012

 

Exum came to Kaunas in 2012 expected to be one of Australia's main guns and that is exactly what happened as he averaged 17.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists as Australia finished second for their first time on the podium. The Melbourne native's numbers would have been higher had it not been for him playing just 4 minutes in the final group game against France - with his averages being 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists not including that game.

Exum, who would be named to the All-Star Five, started with 17 points in the opener against United States and followed that with 26 points versus China. He tallied 23 points against Egypt and then once again versus Argentina in the Quarter-Finals. Exum guided Australia past Croatia in the Semi-Finals with 18 points and then in the Final his 21 points were not enough in a second loss to USA.

 

Exum would once again be named to the All-Star Five a summer later at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2013 - the same year he debuted with the senior team, playing at the FIBA Oceania Championship 2013. He secured his spot as a role player with the Boomers at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 - at age 19.

Exum would not play again for his country until the 2020 Olympics and then again at the FIBA World Cup 2023. Exum was drafted by Utah with the number five pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and played all 82 games of his rookie season. Injuries wiped out his entire second season and much of his 2017-18 campaign and the three following seasons. In 2021, Exum signed with Barcelona in Spain and then played for Partizan Belgrade in 2022-23 before returning to the NBA and is playing for Dallas this season. 

13: Jalen Green – USA - 2018

 

As one of two players a year younger than the rest of the team, Green served as a scorer off the bench at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2017 and averaged 9.8 points and 2.0 rebounds. He had the same role at the U17 World Cup in 2018 and despite coming from the bench, Green led a stacked USA team in scoring with 15.7 points per game while also averaging 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals. And he was named the MVP of the tournament.

Green picked up 12.3 points per game in the group stage and tallied 10 points in the Round of 16 win over Dominican Republic. Then the explosive guard took off in the Quarter-Finals against Croatia, hitting 5 three-pointers in scoring 27 points on 13 shots in 19 minutes. Green then poured in 25 points in USA's Semi-Finals win over Canada in just 17 minutes. And he chipped in 11 points in the Final over France.

Jalen Green at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019

Green would play for USA again the next summer, playing a major role at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 with 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the title-winning team. Despite being two years younger than the rest of the competition, he scored 18 points in the Semi-Finals against Lithuania.

Green has yet to play for USA Basketball since 2019. Instead of attending college, Green signed with the NBA G League Ignite team for the 2020-21 season, averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He was then selected second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Green tallied 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2022. He averaged 22.1 points per game in 2022-23 and this past season averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while playing in all 82 games for the Rockets. 

12: Andrew Nembhard - Canada - 2016

Nembhard was a leader for Canada at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2015 with 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. The Toronto native played a major role as point guard in the U17 World Cup in 2016, averaging 5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He started the campaign with 14 points and 4 steals against Australia. That was the most points Nembhard would score in the tournament as he served more as a playmaker. He went scoreless with 6 assists against Finland and had 5 points and 5 assists in a win over China.

Nembhard tallied 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in helping Canada beat Dominican Republic in the Round of 16. He had his worst game in the Quarter-Finals loss to Turkey with 2 points on 1-of-7 shots, 3 assists and 2 turnovers before fouling out.  The team rebounded and finished fifth with a win over France in which Nembhard had 7 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.

Andrew Nembhard at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019

Nembhard the next summer would play at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup  2018 and average 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Later in the summer he played two games with the Canadian senior national team in the First Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers, picking up  3.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

He made the Canada team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 at age 19 and contributed 2.8 points and 2.4 assists. Nembhard played two seasons of college basketball with Florida and two more with Gonzaga before being selected with the 31st pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He had a strong rookie season and in 2023-24 averaged 9.2 points on 49.8/35.7/80.4 percent shooting, 2.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Nembhard's numbers jumped dramatically in the 2024 NBA Playoffs with 14.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 17 games. 

11: Scottie Barnes - USA - 2018

 

Barnes played a major role in USA rolling to the title at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2017 and then grew into a leadership role for the stacked American team at the U17 World Cup in 2018. He averaged 9.5 points, 5.8 rebounds in 2.3 assists in less than 16 minutes per game in Argentina.

He totaled 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals as he played in just two of three group stage games. Barnes' game stepped up in the knockout phase, starting with 13 points 9 rebounds and 3 assists against Dominican Republic. He followed that with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals versus Croatia in the Quarter-Finals and had his best game against Canada in the Semi-Finals with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. In the title game against France, Barnes chipped in 3 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Scottie Barnes at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019

Barnes would play the next summer for USA at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 and averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 asissts in helping the Americans to the title in Heraklion. Barnes has yet to play for USA since then though in January 2024 he was included in the 41-man pool of players for the 2024 Olympics. Barnes played one season of college basketball at Florida State and then was picked fourth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He was named the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year and was selected as an NBA All-Star in 2024.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Top 20 players to ever play at the U17 World Cup.

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