The 15 most interesting players at the 2023 FIBA World Cup - ESPN

The FIBA World Cup tipped off today with games beginning at 4 a.m. ET in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The Americans are the favorite team, but there are several countries with elite talent that could potentially win it all. Several players across the tournament hail from different professional leagues, ranging from the NBA to EuroBasket and EuroLeague.

Team USA plays its first game against New Zealand at 8:40 a.m. ET Saturday. All 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four and will play the Group Phase's first round on Aug. 25-30.

Team USA features NBA stars such as Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson and Austin Reaves, yet the competition also bolsters All-NBA players such as Slovenia's Luka Doncic and Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and international players like Australia's Dante Exum (who recently signed with the Dallas Mavericks) and Spain's Juan Nunez.

Kevin Pelton and Jonathan Givony share the players they will be keeping an eye on during the two-week tournament.

As other countries have relied on naturalized contributors, China had been an exception until Anderson was granted citizenship in late July, allowing him to fill the one spot on the team's roster. How Anderson fits as a first-timer with a roster longer on continuity than NBA talent — Zhou Qi, China's other player with NBA experience, played just 125 minutes in the league — will be interesting. Anderson's versatility will allow him to fill gaps on China's roster, which placed 24th as the host nation in 2019 and did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. — Kevin Pelton

FIBA competition is where Barrett cemented himself as one of the top prospects in the world, defeating the United States at the 2017 U19 World Cup and helping Canada secure its first