Group A Likely To Advance 1. France With likely MVP candidate, Tony Parker, leading the way for the French squad, Les Blues are the runaway favorites to take group A. While France may be missing a trio of NBA bigs, Joakim Noah, Ronny Turiaf and Kevin Seraphin, they have by far the most talented roster in this group, and are a virtual lock to earn a bid to the World Cup. After getting knocked off by Spain in the quarterfinals of the Olympics,
Group B Likely to advance 1. Lithuania One of the most fully loaded squads in his year’s Eurobasket, the Lithuanian squad is poised to be one of the juggernauts of this year’s competition. Veteran point guard Sarunas Jasikevicus will be sitting this one out, but the Grateful Dead’s favorite European basketball team will be a force to be reckoned with. Starting with Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, the Lithuanians will be loaded with horses in the paint. Valanciunas had a solid rookie season, but seems
Group C Likely To Advance 1. Spain Known as the most powerful basketball country outside of the United States, the winners of the past two Eurobaskets will once again be the favorites to win gold in Slovenia this summer. What is really crazy is that Spain is the favorite to win the tournament, but their list of players absent this year, which includes Pau Gasol, Serge Ibaka, future Chicago Bull and Spanish league MVP Nikola Mirotic, Juan Carlos Navarro, Victor Sada and Felipe
Group D Likely To Advance 1. Greece Greece is another squad showing up without some of their best players but still remain a contender for the gold. Even without pick-and-roll master Dimitris Diamantitis, Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes, Nuggets center Kosta Koufos and Maccabi Tel Aviv center “Sofo” Schortsanitis, the Greeks are poised to compete for their first medal since 2009. Italian coach Andrea Trinchieri, who recently moved from Cantu to Unics Kazan in Russia, will have no shortage of weapons throughout this campaign. Back-to-back
The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship is set to kick off tonight in Caracas, Venezuela, with 10 teams vying for four spots in the Basketball World Cup (formerly known as the World Championship) next summer in Spain. Who is going to win? Who are the players to keep an eye on? We’ve got you covered on both fronts. [Read more…]
Last season’s Euroleague scoring champion, Bobby Brown, has until August 15th to exercise the NBA out in the contract he signed in China with the DongGuan Leopards. With the deadline approaching, will the super scoring guard get a second chance in the NBA? The Knicks were considering him, but went for Beno Udrih instead. Will anybody else go after him in the next couple days? Bobby Brown is a 28-year old, lighting quick, 6’1” point guard who can score at will
Most people are under the impression that the basketball season ends with the last game of the NBA Finals. But that was over a month ago, and the NBA is still in full swing. Commissioner David Stern has done a fantastic job of keeping the momentum going with the draft, free agency and an exciting Las Vegas Summer League showcase with a new twist. In contrast to the Orlando Summer League, which is open only to the media and personnel from NBA and
After going through an 82-game NBA season, many young NBA players are like caged lions ready to bust out when given the chance. I have just spent the better part of two weeks witnessing it first-hand, watching 15 games in Orlando and more than two dozen so far in Vegas, baby, where the games continue through July 22. The NBA summer leagues are a great opportunity for unproven players to show NBA coaches and decision makers that they deserve a chance