The FIBA World Cup returns after a 5-year hiatus, with play beginning Aug. 31 in China. Here’s everything you need to know about the event.
The 18th FIBA World Cup tips off in the wee hours of Saturday morning in the U.S. with the opening of first-round play from eight venues across China.
Angola and Serbia get the honor of tipping off the event with their matchup at 3:30 a.m. Eastern from Foshan in Group D play.
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A total of 31 teams went through regional qualifying tournaments from November 2017 and ending in February. Five teams from Africa, seven from the Americans and 12 from Europe will join the seven Asian qualifiers — plus host China, which did not have to go through qualifying.
Who’s playing, where and when
The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups for first-round play. The groups (and the nation’s FIBA World Ranking) are below:
Group A (Beijing)
China (30)
Ivory Coast (64)
Poland (25)
Venezuela (20)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Saturday
Poland vs. Venezuela, 4 a.m.
Ivory Coast vs. China, 8 a.m.
Monday
Venezuela vs. Ivory Coast, 4 a.m.
China vs. Poland, 8 a.m.
Sept. 4
Ivory Coast vs. Poland, 4 a.m.
Venezuela vs. China, 8 a.m.
Group B (Wuhan)
Argentina (5)
Korea (32)
Nigeria (33)
Russia (10)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Saturday
Russia vs. Nigeria, 4:30 a.m.
Argentina vs. Korea, 8:30 a.m.
Monday
Nigeria vs. Argentina, 4:30 a.m.
Korea vs. Russia, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 4
Korea vs. Nigeria, 4:30 a.m.
Russia vs. Argentina, 8:30 a.m.
Group C (Guangzhou)
Iran (27)
Puerto Rico (16)
Spain (2)
Tunisia (51)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Saturday
Iran vs. Puerto Rico, 4:30 a.m.
Spain vs. Tunisia, 8:30 a.m.
Monday
Tunisia vs. Iran, 4:30 a.m.
Puerto Rico vs. Spain, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 4
Puerto Rico vs. Tunisia, 4:30 a.m.
Spain vs. Iran, 8:30 a.m.
Group D (Foshan)
Angola (39)
Italy (13)
Philippines (31)
Serbia (4)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Saturday
Angola vs. Serbia, 3:30 a.m.
Philippines vs. Italy, 7:30 a.m.
Monday
Italy vs. Angola, 3:30 a.m.
Serbia vs. Philippines, 7:30 a.m.
Sept. 4
Angola vs. Philippines, 3:30 a.m.
Italy vs. Serbia, 7:30 a.m.
Group E (Shanghai)
Czech Republic (24)
Japan (48)
Turkey (17)
USA (1)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sunday
Turkey vs. Japan, 4:30 a.m.
Czech Republic vs. USA, 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday
Japan vs. Czech Republic, 4:30 a.m.
USA vs. Turkey, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 5
Turkey vs. Czech Republic, 4:30 a.m.
USA vs. Japan, 8:30 a.m.
Group F (Nanjing)
Brazil (12)
Greece (8)
Montenegro (28)
New Zealand (38)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sunday
New Zealand vs. Brazil, 4 a.m.
Greece vs. Montenegro, 8 a.m.
Tuesday
Montenegro vs. New Zealand, 4 a.m.
Brazil vs. Greece, 8 a.m.
Sept. 5
Brazil vs. Montenegro, 4 a.m.
Greece vs. New Zealand, 8 a.m.
Group G (Shenzhen)
Dominican Republic (18)
France (3)
Germany (22)
Jordan (49)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sunday
Dominican Republic vs. Jordan, 4:30 a.m.
France vs. Germany, 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday
Germany vs. Dominican Republic, 4:30 a.m.
Jordan vs. France, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 5
Germany vs. Jordan, 4:30 a.m.
Dominican Republic vs. France, 8:30 a.m.
Group H (Dongguan)
Australia (11)
Canada (23)
Lithuania (6)
Senegal (37)
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sunday
Canada vs. Australia, 3:30 a.m.
Senegal vs. Lithuania, 7:30 a.m.
Tuesday
Australia vs. Senegal, 3:30 a.m.
Lithuania vs. Canada, 7:30 a.m.
Sept. 5
Canada vs. Senegal, 3:30 a.m.
Lithuania vs. Australia, 7:30 a.m.
Format
First-round play will be a round-robin within the groups listed above. The top two finishers in each group will advance to second-round play, which will be comprised of four groups of four.
Group I will be the top two teams from Groups A and B, with the top two teams from Groups C and D forming Group J. The top two teams from Groups E and F will compete in Group K. Group L will include the top two teams from Groups G and H.
The top two finishers in the second-round group stage advance to the quarterfinals. Interestingly, the records from the first round will carry over to Round 2.
The quarterfinals, set for Sept. 10-11, will match up Groups I and J (first-place team vs. second-place team) and Groups K and L. Those assignments will cross over for the semifinals on Sept. 13, with the losers meeting in the bronze-medal game on Sept. 14.
The gold-medal game is set for Sept. 15.
For the teams eliminated in the first round, there will be a classification round that will be set up similar to the second round as far as group assignments.
Quarterfinal losers will advance to classification play and games to determine fifth and seventh places.
One of the potential pitfalls is ties. The first tiebreaker in group play is head-to-head play, but in the event of a three-way tie, the next tiebreakers are, in order, net points in games among tied teams, most points in games among tied teams, net points overall and most points overall.
In four-team single round-robin play, it’s not uncommon for three teams to finish 2-1 with an 0-3 team in fourth place or a 3-0 team in first place with three teams tied at 1-2. That’s where it can get murky.
Players to watch
More than half of the teams in the field — 17 in all — will be represented by at least one current NBA player. Here are the players expected to participate, by country, per NBA.com.
Australia: Aron Baynes, Phoenix Suns; Matthew Dellavedova, Cleveland Cavaliers; Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz; Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs.
Brazil: Cristiano Felicio, Chicago Bulls; Bruno Caboclo, Memphis Grizzlies.
Canada: Khem Birch, Orlando Magic; Oshae Brissett, Toronto Raptors; Cory Joseph, Sacramento Kings.
Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky, Chicago Bulls.
France: Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets; Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic; Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz; Frank Ntilikina, New York Knicks; Elie Okobo, Phoenix Suns; Vincent Poirier, Boston Celtics.
Germany: Isaac Bonga, Washington Wizards; Maxi Kleber, Dallas Mavericks; Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City Thunder; Daniel Theis, Boston Celtics.
Greece: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks.
Italy: Marco Belinelli, San Antonio Spurs; Danilo Gallinari, Oklahoma City Thunder.
Japan: Rui Hachimura, Washington Wizards; Yuta Watanabe, Memphis Grizzlies.
Lithuania: Jonas Valanciunas, Memphis Grizzlies; Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers.
Montenegro: Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic.
Nigeria: Al-Farouq Aminu, Orlando Magic; Chimezie Metu, San Antonio Spurs; Josh Okogie, Minnesota Timberwolves.
Puerto Rico: Isaiah Pineiro, Sacramento Kings.
Serbia: Nemanja Bjelica, Sacramento Kings; Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings; Marco Guduric, Memphis Grizzlies; Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets; Boban Marjanovic, Dallas Mavericks.
Spain: Marc Gasol, Toronto Raptors; Juan Hernangomez, Denver Nuggets; Willy Hernangomez, Charlotte Hornets; Ricky Rubio, Phoenix Suns.
Turkey: Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers; Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks; Furkan Korkmaz, Philadelphia 76ers.
United States: Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings; Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Joe Harris, Brooklyn Nets; Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks; Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks; Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz; Mason Plumlee, Denver Nuggets; Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics; Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics; Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics; Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs.
Where to watch
Every game of the 2019 FIBA World Cup will be streamed live on ESPN+. The FIBA World Cup website has the complete schedule of games. There will be a total of 92 games across the 16 days of the tournament.
History
USA Basketball will be looking for its third consecutive World Cup title, having won in Turkey in 2010 and repeating as champions in Spain in 2014.
The last time a team other than the U.S. won the event was in Japan in 2006, when Spain beat Greece in the gold-medal game after the Greeks upset Team USA in the semifinals.
Past winners include Argentina (1950), Team USA (1954, 1986, 1994, 2010, 2014), Brazil (1959, 1963), Soviet Union (1967, 1974, 1982), Yugoslavia (1970, 1978, 1990, 1998, 2002) and Spain (2006).