2023 FIBA World Cup team profile: Serbia

The Serbian national basketball team has high hopes for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Serbia, making its seventh straight World Cup appearance, finished fifth in the 2019 edition with a 6-2 record. The Eagles' two setbacks came against Spain and Argentina, but they beat the USA in the reclassification stage. Serbia has a 34-16 record in the competition, claiming two golds and a bronze.

After failing to qualify for the 2020 Olympics, the Serbian Basketball Federation hired coach Svetislav Pesic. Pesic led the Eagles to a 5-1 record, which was good enough to finish ninth in the 2021 EuroBaskets.

The 73-year-old has plenty of international experience. He led Yugoslavia to the FIBA EuroBasket 2001 and 2002 World Cup titles.

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How Serbia qualified for 2023 FIBA World Cup

Serbia qualified for the 2023 FIBA World Cup by finishing second in Europe's Group I with an 8-4 record.

The Serbs split their two games with Latvia and Greece, who are also playing in the World Cup. The Eagles' two other setbacks came against Belgium. The Eagles averaged 80.9 points during World Cup qualification with a plus-3.9 scoring margin.

Group Play and Prep Games

Serbia is sixth in the FIBA World Rankings and is drawn into Group B. All Group B contests will be played in Quezon City, Philippines.

The Serbs open their World Cup campaign against No. 27 China on Aug. 26. They then play No. 20 Puerto Rico before closing out group play against No. 62 South Sudan. The Eagles have a 2-0 record against China and are 6-0 against Puerto Rico.

Serbia went 3-1 in World Cup prep games. They beat Greece 71-64, thaanks to Bogdan Bogdanovic's 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Eagles came up just short against Italy 89-88 despite 18 points from Nikola Jovic. Both those games were part of the 32nd Aegean Acropolis Tournament.

Serbia bounced back from the Italy loss by pounding Puerto Rico 110-75 in Belgrade on Aug. 16. They followed up that win with an 87-64 victory over China on Sunday. The Eagles have one more exhibition game against Brazil.

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Key players to watch out for

Bojan Bogdanovic

Bogdanovic is the leader of the Serbian national team. The 30-year-old sharpshooter, with lots of international experience, has played for the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.

He holds career NBA averages of 14.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Bogdanovic also has a career shooting slash line of .440/.387/.823.

Nikola Milutinov

Milutinov was selected in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs in 2015 but has never played in the NBA.

Instead, the 7-footer has stayed in Europe, where he's a two-time EuroLeague rebounding champion. Offensively, he's very efficient around the rim. After playing for CSKA Moscow in the last three years, Milutinov has returned to Greek club Olympiacos for the upcoming campaign.

Nikola Jovic

Jovic is entering his second season with the Miami Heat. The 20-year-old forward didn't see much game time with the Heat but showed off his ability in summer league action this year. Jovic is a three-level scorer who can finish through contact.

Filip Petrusev

Petrusev makes his way to the Philadelphia 76ers after getting selected in the second round in 2021. The 23-year-old is a big body and is very skilled. He's a good scorer and rebounder and can stretch the floor with his shooting.

Ognjen Dobric

Dobric has spent his entire professional playing career in Serbia. The 28-year-old wing is an excellent shooter and solid defender and is coming off one of the best seasons of his career.

He averaged 10.0 points and 1.5 3-pointers on 48.2% shooting from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc for KK Crvena Zvezda last year.

Marko Gurdric

Gurdic is a 6-foot-6 wing who played with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2019-20 season.

He's an excellent shooter, scorer, and playmaker. He averaged 11.8 points, 1.7 threes and 3.4 assists in 57 games for Fenerbahce last year. Gurdic posted a shooting slash line of .489/.394/.856.

Dusan Ristic

Ristic is a 7-foot center who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2018. Ristic is an excellent low-post scorer and an outstanding rebounder. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds with a shooting slash line of .583/.386/.750 in 38 games last season.