FIBA World Cup 2019: 5 non-Team USA teams with a chance to win gold
By Phil Watson
With their exhibition loss to Australia last week still fresh, Team USA is still favored to win the FIBA World Cup, but there are other contenders.
The 2019 edition of the FIBA World Cup tips off Saturday and there is definitely blood in the water for other nations looking to end USA Basketball’s recent dominance on the world stage.
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Team USA put together gold-medal efforts in the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but with a cast in China that doesn’t have the same star power as those earlier champions, there are other contenders that have emerged.
The mystique of Team USA took a hit on Saturday when the Americans took a 98-94 loss to host Australia in an international friendly as part of their preparation for the World Cup.
It was their first loss in 78 games in major international competition and their first since a 101-95 loss to Greece in the semifinals of what was then known as the FIBA World Championships on Sept. 1, 2006, in Saitama, Japan.
With most of the superstars sitting this one out, USA Basketball has a 12-man roster that features a total of just five NBA All-Star Game appearances, three of those by team co-captain Kemba Walker and one each from Milwaukee Bucks representatives Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
Lopez’s All-Star nod came in 2014, so the group has just two current All-Stars at its disposal.
Make no mistake, Team USA is still the favorite, per Odds Shark, but those odds have gotten smaller since the loss to Australia, now at just minus-225.
There are other contenders that could emerge over the next two weeks in China, primarily these five.