FIBA World Cup 2023: 5 underdogs capable of upsetting the favorites

The FIBA World Cup 2023 is five weeks away and the 32 teams are heading into their respective training camps to prepare for the tournament. The tourney will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.

Team USA, France, Australia, reigning champions, Spain, and Serbia will enter the tournament as favorites for a spot in the podium and a chance in the Gold Medal game.

At the same time, Germany and Canada will bring several star players to Asia and are expected to fight for a top four finish.

However, there are teams that will enter the FIBA World Cup as underdogs, aiming to upset the favorites and fight for a spot in the podium. In this article, we take a look at five underdogs that can upset the favorites:

#5 - Italy

France v Italy: Quarterfinal Round - FIBA EuroBasket 2022

Italy could be one of the dark horses of the FIBA World Cup 2023 after an impressive performance in the 2022 FIBA EuroBasket.

With Simone Fontecchio leading the way, the Italians reached the quarterfinals in both the 2021 Olympic Games and the 2022 EuroBasket. He averaged 19.3 and 19.4 points, respectively.

Fontecchio headlines the roster for the FIBA World Cup, along with Nicolo Melli, Achille Polonara and Luigi Datome (in his final major tournament before retiring).

It has been 19 years since Italy reached the podium in a major FIBA tournament and the Italians want to return to the top four and stun their opponents.

Italy's preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup:

• Guglielmo Caruso
• Luigi Datome
• Mouhamet Diouf
• Simone Fontecchio
• Niccolo Mannion
• Nicolo Melli
• Alessandro Pajola
• Achille Polonara
• Gabriele Procida
• Giampaolo Ricci
• Luca Severini
• Matteo Spagnolo
• Marco Spagnolo
• Marco Spissu
• Stefano Tonut
• Riccardo Visconti
• Tomas Woldetensae

#4 - Latvia

Boston Celtics v Washington Wizards

Latvia makes its debut in the FIBA World Cup and will look to become the tournament's pleasant surprise.

The headline of the announced roster is NBA superstar Kristaps Porzingis, who was featured on the national team in two games of the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers.

The Boston Celtics' big man averaged 25.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game to help Latvia clinch a FIBA World Cup debut.

"The World Cup is the first time for us, in such beautiful countries," said Porzingis last year. "It's going to be a great experience for everyone, not just me, the team, but our families and fans. It's going to be spectacular."

Fellow NBA forward Davis Bertans is also on the preliminary roster after playing in the European Qualifiers, along with his brother Dairis, who played in all 12 games of the qualifiers.

Even though they lack experience, they were a dominant force in the qualifiers, going 9-1 and winning 11 straight games.

"Anything can happen," Porzingis said. "You can finish in the top three or 15. We have to see how it goes. (But) We are going to have talent to do great things."

Latvia's preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup:

• Rodions Kurucs
• Mareks Mejeris
• Kristaps Porzingis
• Davis Bertans
• Dairis Bertans
• Janis Timma
• Rolands Smits
• Arturs Strautins
• Janis Strelnieks
• Artis Ate
• Janis Berzins
• Klavs Gavars
• Rihards Lomazs
• Aigars Skele
• Andrejs Grazulis
• Martins Laksa
• Marcic Steinbergs
• Anzejs Pasecniks
• Karlis Silins
• Toms Leimanis
• Arturs Kurucs
• Roberts Berzins
• Arturs Zagars
• Kristers Zoriks

#3 - Finland

2023 NBA All Star Game

Finland will play Australia, Germany and Japan in the first round and will need Lauri Markkanen to play the way he did at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 to have a chance of reaching the second round.

Last September, the Finns stunned their opponents and made it to the top eight. They lost to eventual champions Spain.

Markkanen finished second overall in scoring at 27.9 points per game and went on to have a breakout year with the Utah Jazz, winning the 2023 Most Improved Player award.

The first European country to claim its tickets for the FIBA World Cup, it will not come as a surprise if Finland have a deep run in the tournament should it play at the same high standards as in the EuroBasket.

Finland's preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup:

• Max Besselink
• Perttu Blomgren
• Daniel Dolenc
• Federiko Federiko
• Jacob Grandison
• Shawn Hopkins
• Mikael Jantunen
• Henri Kantonen
• Severi Kaukiainen
• Aatu Kivimaki
• Miro Little
• Alexander Madsen
• Lauri Markkanen
• Edon Maxhuni
• Alex Murphy
• Lassi Nikkarinen
• Olivier Nkamhoua
• Topias Palmi
• Remu Raitanen
• Sasu Salin
• Ilari Seppala
• Elias Valtonen

#2 - Greece

Germany v Greece: Quarterfinal Round - FIBA EuroBasket 2022

Greece will face Team USA, New Zealand and Jordan in Group C, in Manila. It has a lot of key players skipping the tournament, like Tyler Dorsey, Kostas Sloukas and Nick Calathes.

If Giannis Antetokounmpo, who headlines the preliminary roster, is healthy enough to play, then the Greeks will have a chance to enter the top eight and fight for a podium finish. If Giannis is out, though, then things will become tough for a traditional powerhouse, which finished fifth in the 2022 EuroBasket.

Greece's preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup:

• Kostas Papanikolaou
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Thanasis Antetokounmpo
• Giannoulis Larentzakis
• Ioannis Papapetrou
• Dimitris Agravanis
• George Papagiannis
• Michalis Lountzis
• Dinos Mitoglou
• Lefteris Bochorides
• Kostas Antetokounmpo
• Panagiotis Kalaitzakis
• Nikos Rogkavopoulos
• Dimitris Moraitis
• Nikos Chougkaz
• George Tsalmpoyris
• Vassilis Toliopoulos
• Dimitris Flionis
• Manos Chatzidakis
• Lefteris Mantzoukas
• Thomas Walkup
• Vangelis Zougris

#1 - Slovenia

Slovenia v Poland: Quarterfinal Round - FIBA EuroBasket 2022

Despite a stunning elimination in the 2022 EuroBasket, the Slovenians will always be in the conversation for a place in the podium with Luka Doncic in the lineup.

The superstar of the Dallas Mavericks is healthy and well-rested, so we expect the Slovenians to be among the teams that will challenge the favorites in the FIBA World Cup. The only concern is whether the supporting cast will underperform.

Slovenia's preliminary roster for FIBA World Cup:

• Jaka Blazic
• Sasa Ciani
• Vlatko Cancar
• Jakob Cebasek
• Ziga Dimec
• Luka Doncic
• Zoran Dragic
• Gregor Glas
• Gregor Hrovat
• Urban Klavzar
• Aljaz Kunc
• Miha Lapornik
• Jurij Macura
• Blaz Mahkovic
• Jordan Morgan
• Aleksej Nikolic
• Bine Prepelic
• Klemen Prepelic
• Ziga Samar
• Mike Tobey