Soon enough, the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be closing its one remaining window for countries that would still want to participate in the coming tournament. The final list will have a total of 32 teams and so far, there are 17 that have locked their slots in the event.
There were six qualifying windows that began in November 2021 and will conclude this February 2023. By the 25th of August 2023, the World Cup Group Phase will begin in the three host countries — Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines with the Final Phase at Manila, Philippines. By the 10th of September 2023, the tournament will see its champion earn the crown.
Here are the current 17 teams locked in for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023:
Japan
Currently ranked at 38th place, Japan also qualified to be a co-host of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. This is also their second time co-hosting the event following 2006. Their top showing came in 1967 at 11th place. As of late, this is their sixth time participating in the global event as well as a back-to-back appearance since 1963 and 1967.
Philippines
The Phillippines was able to qualify as one of the co-hosts of the World Cup with 2023 seeing it as its second time to be a host nation after 1978 which was also the last time they finished in the top eight. The current ranking is at 40th place, the coming event is also its third straight time to participate. The best performance for the Philippines was seen back in 1954 grabbing third place.
Australia
Currently ranked third in the World Cup, 2023 is also Australia’s fifth straight time to participate in the event. This is also their 13th appearance in the last 14 events — missing out only in 2002. They reached a turning point in 2019 making it to the Semi-Finals as their best-ever finish. They edged out Kazakhstan in November 2022’s match remaining undefeated in Asian Qualifiers.
Canada
They have been locked in back-to-back World Cup showing for the first time after playing nine straight events from 1970 to 2002. This will be their 15th appearance and currently ranked in 15th place. Their best showing was back in November after defeating Venezuela ending the tourney in sixth place.
China
This will be the tenth time that China participated in the World Cup. They were among the hosts of the tournament back in 2019. Currently, they are 27th in the world. Their best performance was seen at the 1994 World Cup when they finished eighth overall. They won both games in the November 2022 Asian Qualifiers to secure their spot in the World Cup 2023.
Cote d’Ivoire
This will be the fifth time that Cote d’Ivoire was able to go back to the World Cup. They secured back-to-back participation in 1986 and 1990. Currently, at 43rd place in the rankings, they made three of the last four editions. The best performance was seen in 1986 and 1990 where they ended the tourney in 13th place. A good note to consider is that they are the first ones to advance from the Qualifiers in August 2022 in the African Qualifiers.
Finland
They are able to be the first team to hurdle the European Qualifiers in the August 2022 window. This is a good comeback having missed out on the World Cup in 2019. Currently, they rank 24th in the world and reached their best performance to date in 2014 finishing at that time on 22nd place.
France
This will be France’s fifth straight time in the World Cup with an impressive third-rank finish in the last two events. They are currently in 5th place and will be gunning for their ninth overall appearance at the coming tournament. They were able to secure their slot in the qualifiers that were held in November 2022.
Germany
This will be the fifth time that Germany was able to compete in the World Cup in the last six editions — where they missed in 2014. Currently, they are ranked 11th place. The best-ever performance was back in 2002 getting third place and saw its worst-ever in 2019 clocking in at 18th place. They finished third place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 in November and earned their slot in the World Cup event.
Greece
Currently ranked ninth overall, Greece showed their best performance in both 1994 and 1998 finishing in fourth place. They are back for a fifth straight World Cup tournament. The last three tournaments did see Greece not making it to the Quarter-Finals since finishing runners-up in 2006s when the World Cup was held in Japan. They were able to secure their slot during the qualifiers in November 2022.
Italy
This will be Italy’s 10th appearance in the FIBA World Cup. They were able to have their best performance as yet back in 1970 and 1978 finishing fourth overall. This is also their first back-to-back berth since 1986 and 1990. They were able to make it through the November 2022 window.
Latvia
They are distinctly marking the 2023 World Cup as a very important event. They are the only country to make their debut this year. They were able to capture their slot during the November 2022 qualifiers. They are currently ranked 29th in the world.
Lebanon
They’re back after a long absence. They made their first appearance in the World Cup in 2010 and captured fourth overall. The 2010 World Cup was also the last of three straight participations who are now ranked 42nd overall. They finished their best in 2022 at 16th place. They also locked their slot in the November 2022 qualifiers.
Lithuania
They are currently ranked eighth in the world. They are regular participants in the World Cup seeing a fifth straight berth and sixth in the last seven editions. Their best performances were seen back in 2010 when they finished third and in 2014 taking fourth overall. They were able to qualify as well in the November 2022 window.
New Zealand
Currently ranked 26th in the world, they reached fourth place in 2002. This has been the sixth straight time they participated and the seventh overall. Recent history has seen that the team failed to reach the Quarter-Finals since 2002. They were able to hurdle the November 2022 window despite losing two matches.
Slovenia
This will be Slovenia’s fourth time playing in the FIBA World Cup. They are currently ranked seventh in the world and were able to reach the World Cup Quarter-FInals in 2010 and 2014. They were FIBA EuroBasket 2017 champions and were able to lock up their slot in the 2023 tournament in the qualifiers in November 2022. They missed out on the 2019 World Cup and making it to this year’s roster truly makes up for it.
Spain
Currently, the FIBA World Cup reigning champions, are back to defend their position after qualifying for the 13th time and 11th in a row. Spain outshone the United States as the number-one team in the world and has reached the Quarter-Finals in the last six editions. They were able to secure two medals back in 2006 and 2019. They were able to go through the qualifiers in November 2022.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup will be an exciting global event in the coming months. Better have more details and information on teams and their stats to choose who will be your favourite one to wager on. Would your home country be your favourite or there’s another factor that could sway your decision? Let us know in the comment section below folks! If you’d like us to feature the individual teams in greater detail, holler and we’ll get this featured on our pages. Hope to hear from you soon! Ciao!
