The FIBA World Cup can often be used to improve your value, especially in the NBA, where roster spots are always up for grabs, and these players have made the most of their campaign this year.
Austin Reaves, Simone Fontecchio, and Dennis Schroder are some of the main reasons why their nations are in the quarter-finals, while Jordan Clarkson made the Philippines relevant in the basketball world once again.
In the NBA, these players don’t necessarily command the star treatment, but given how they fared so far in the World Cup, at least they should be given increased roles by their respective teams.
Read more below as SBOTOP analyses why these NBA players stood out in this competition.
Austin Reaves, Lakers
Austin Reaves has been a fan favourite here in the Philippines, primarily because he’s a Lakers star, but his production in this competition shouldn’t be overlooked.
The 25-year-old combo guard is Team USA’s second-leading scorer with 10.8 points per game. His numbers may be modest, but considering the collective talent that they have and the fact that his production has come in under 20 minutes per game, that is quite impressive.
But after Team USA qualified for the knockouts, Reaves didn’t have a great game in their loss against Lithuania on Sunday, as he didn’t have a single rebound, assist, or steal while shooting only 25-per cent from the field. He was picked on by Lithuania, which was the main reason why he also fouled out.
If there’s a bounce-back game for him, it’s their match against a smaller Italy team. Reaves should be able to cause havoc against the Azzurri’s defence because of his uncanny ability to create NBA 2023 highlights by drawing fouls and knocking down three-pointers (46-per cent).
Simone Fontecchio, Jazz
Simone Fontecchio has made a strong case for more playing time with the Jazz next season here in the World Cup because he has been Italy’s best player.
The 27-year-old forward is the team’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, with averages of 18.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, although he’s only shooting 43-per cent from the field.
In this tournament, Fontecchio has shown everyone that he can do so many things on the court to help his team.
Fontecchio’s best performance in this tournament so far was his 30-point outburst in Italy’s 78-76 victory against Serbia in the second round, becoming the first Italian to have that many points in a World Cup match since Carlton Myers’ 32 points against the USA in 1998.
Jordan Clarkson, Jazz
Another Jazz player who is on this list is Jordan Clarkson, who has surely made his fellow Filipinos proud in this tournament.
In the World Cup, the Philippines got their money’s worth from Clarkson, who averaged 26 points and 5.2 assists per game. He also led the team in minutes with 35.9 per contest, although his efficiency dipped because of it (41-per cent from the field, 29-per cent from three-point land).
The 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year saved his best for last with a 34-point explosion in their 96-75 victory against China to end their nine-year losing streak at World Cups. 20 of those points came within the final five minutes of the third quarter, which helped the Philippines rout their Chinese counterparts.
After the game, Clarkson said that he would like to represent the Philippines again in the future, despite being 35 years old by the time of the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
But the Philippines might need him for one more tournament in the upcoming Asian Games, which will commence in just a few weeks.
Dennis Schroder, Raptors
Germany have emerged as the dark horse title contenders, according to the NBA 2023 odds, largely because of Dennis Schroder, who leads the team in scoring (19.8 PPG) and assists (6.8) while playing the most minutes (26.3 MPG).
Die Mannschaft are one of the few undefeated teams left in this tournament with a 5-0 record (as of this writing), including big wins against once-favourites Australia and Slovenia en route to making it to the quarter-finals.
Schroder’s best performance was in their 85-82 nail-biter against Australia, where he dropped 30 points, eight assists, and four steals.
With Fred VanVleet signing a huge contract with the Rockets, Schroder figures to be the starting point guard for the Raptors this upcoming NBA season, especially if he keeps this up.
Schroder had a productive campaign last year with the Lakers, with averages of 12.6 points and 4.5 assists per game during the regular season.
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