World Cup bronze medallist Canada moves to No. 6 in FIBA men's world rankings

Canada soared nine spots to No. 6 in the world in the FIBA men's world after winning the basketball World Cup bronze in the updated list that was released Friday.

USA Basketball is back atop, even after failing to medal at the tournament, and Latvia — which made the quarterfinals of its first World Cup — climbed 22 spots to No. 8.

The Americans flipped spots with Spain for No. 1 in the world, reclaiming the top spot that they lost late last year. Spain is now No. 2, and World Cup champion Germany soared eight spots to No. 3 on the world list — the best in that program's history.

It's certainly possible now that the Americans will keep the top spot leading into the Paris Olympics, where the U.S. will aim for a fifth consecutive gold medal. FIBA, the sport's governing body, updates its rankings every few months; Friday's update was the first tweak to the men's list since February.

WATCH | Canada claims 1st men's basketball World Cup medal:

Spain had overtaken the U.S. in November 2022, ending a 12-year run in the top spot for the Americans.

"The world is good at basketball," U.S. point guard Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks said as the World Cup was winding down. "Respect everybody."

FIBA's rankings were changed in 2017 to a system that only takes results from the most recent eight years into account. The Olympic golds from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo factor into the current rankings, and obviously help after back-to-back failures to medal at the last two World Cups — the U.S. was seventh at China in 2019 and fourth in Manila earlier this month, falling to Germany in the semifinals and Canada in the bronze-medal game.

The biggest climber in the rankings after the World Cup was South Sudan, which was No. 63 in the