Before starting their annual runs toward what they hope is an NBA championship, players like Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic have another trophy to chase this summer.
They’ll be seeking the European title.
EuroBasket — a 24-team tournament pitting the best squads in Europe against one another — opens Wednesday. Spain is the defending champion, and more than two dozen players who currently are on NBA rosters are expected to take part in the event.
“I think you guys have gotten a taste of it a little bit with Olympics maybe and it’s kind of similar for us really how much pride there is in that tournament,” said Sweden guard Pelle Larsson, who plays for the Miami Heat, when asked to explain how big a deal EuroBasket is on his home continent.
“Everyone comes to compete and is really proud to represent their country,” he said. “For a country like Sweden, that is our biggest competition and that’s the most prideful.”
Spain beat France in the final of the 2022 tournament, the most recent last time EuroBasket was held.
Tournament format
Nations were drawn into groups of six. Teams will play the other teams in their group once in the opening stage. The top four teams in each group will advance to the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, from Sept. 6 through Sept. 14.
Group A preview
Group site: Riga, Latvia
Teams (FIBA world ranking): Serbia (2), Latvia (9), Czechia (19), Turkey (27), Estonia (43), Portugal (56)
Outlook: The good news for Latvia is that it’ll be at home for the entirety of the tournament, with the group stage and the knockout rounds all in Riga. The bad news for Latvia (and Czechia, Turkey, Estonia and Portugal) is that Serbia will be there as well. Serbia is the tournament favorite for good reason, with Denver’s Nikola Jokic set to lead a team that has been proven on the world stage for some time. Serbia went 7-0 in tune-up games leading into EuroBasket, winning them all by at least 10 points.
Predicted to advance: Serbia, Latvia, Czechia, Turkey
Group B preview
Group site: Tampere, Finland
Teams (FIBA world ranking): Germany (3), Lithuania (10), Montenegro (16), Finland (20), Great Britain (48), Sweden (49)
Outlook: This could be the most competitive group, with the reigning World Cup champion in Germany, a traditional power like Lithuania and a rising team like Finland — which played very well in exhibitions this summer and gets the edge of playing group games at home. Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner should be enough of a 1-2 punch to get Germany into the knockout round. After that, chaos seems possible.
Predicted to advance: Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden
Group C preview
Group site: Limassol, Cyprus
Teams (FIBA world ranking): Spain (5), Greece (13), Italy (14), Georgia (24), Bosnia and Herzegovina (41), Cyprus (84)
Outlook: It is the group of champions, with five of the last eight EuroBasket winners (Spain three times, Greece once, Italy once in that span) all starting out in Cyprus. Count Spain out at one’s own peril; no, it has not been a good summer for the defending champions, but history has shown that coach Sergio Scariolo’s squad always finds a way to give itself a chance in the biggest moments. And it should be noted that Spain has reached the EuroBasket semifinals in each of the last 11 such tournaments. Host Cyprus is on this stage for the first time.
Predicted to advance: Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia
Group D preview
Group site: Katowice, Poland
Teams (FIBA world ranking): France (4), Slovenia (11), Poland (17), Israel (39), Belgium (40), Iceland (50)
Outlook: There’s no Victor Wembanyama for France; he’s still recovering from surgery to fix deep vein thrombosis that ended Year 2 of his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs back in February. But expect the Olympic silver medalists and EuroBasket finalists to still escape the group phase with ease. Same goes for Slovenia (which was 1-5 in its tune-up games, even with a slimmed-down Luka Doncic) and host Poland. That leaves Israel, Belgium and Iceland essentially battling for one spot in the round of 16.
Predicted to advance: France, Slovenia, Poland, Israel
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
