FIBA World Cup Preview
A comprehensive breakdown of the 12 teams competing in the FIBA Women's World Cup
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While the WNBA playoffs have certainly captured most American women’s basketball fans’ attention for the past few weeks, they will not be the last major competition in September. Starting on Thursday, September 22, in Australia (but technically airing during the evening of September 21 for our stateside readers) is the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. This will kick off the group stage where the teams are split into two groups of six as follows (teams are sorted by FIBA ranking):
Group A: United States, Belgium, China, Korea, Puerto Rico, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group B: Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Serbia, Mali
Each team in the group stage will play five games jam-packed into six days. The top four teams in each group will get a single day of rest before the quarterfinals on Thursday, September 29 (which will again start on Wednesday evening for at least some American viewers). There will be a draw to determine the quarterfinals; the top teams in each group could face either the third- or fourth-placed team in the opposite group. That will begin three consecutive days of games culminating with the final on Saturday, October 1. It is an exhausting gauntlet; the four semifinalists will ultimately play eight games in a mere ten days. While the schedule is more constrained, this World Cup resurrects the old Olympic competition format. At the last World Cup in 2018, there were 16 teams competing in four groups. Back then, each group leader earned a bye to the quarterfinals while the second- and third-placed teams duked it out in a qualifying match.
Qualification for the World Cup was full of intrigue and controversy. First, Belarus pulled out from the qualifying tournaments. Then, after the field was presumably set, Russia was expelled from the competition because of the invasion of Ukraine and was replaced by Puerto Rico. Finally, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament, to be replaced by Mali. You can read some of our coverage of the qualifying tournaments here.
Now, let’s discuss each of the teams in detail:
United States
Despite only retaining five players from last year’s Olympic roster, this team is about as good as it could possibly be. It will center around A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, but it is also less post-heavy than many United States teams have been in the past. Coming off an Olympics where Breanna Stewart was the starting small forward—something which also happened at the last World Cup in 2018—it is conceivable that a small line-up with Betnijah Laney at the power forward spot could be a viable change-up option for Cheryl Reeve. Furthermore, as good as Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones are, the United States not having quite as physically overwhelming of a frontline may mean that it is less able to steamroll smaller teams even if they are not necessarily much—if any—worse than that Olympic team.
For all their talent, the United States has one challenge no one else has. Unlike their competition, every single player on this team has just finished a grueling, condensed WNBA season with an entire line-up’s worth of players finishing the WNBA finals about 77.5 hours before their opening game against a competitive Belgium team. This does not even account for the jet lag and stiff-leggedness related to a transoceanic flight or their limited practice time together. Some interesting trends to monitor will include who the starting perimeter players will be—Chelsea Gray was actually the leading minutes-getter among the three guards who were also in Tokyo—how the team handles small forward minutes given the fact that the roster balance gives more room for Stewart to play her natural position of power forward; and whether Kahleah Copper and Sabrina Ionescu carry over their WNBA brilliance in their first major national competition in the red, white, and blue.
Belgium
It may feel like an oversimplification to say that this team will go as far as Emma Meesseman can take them, but it really is the truth. Meesseman has carried the Belgian Cats for many years now, taking them to the greatest heights in their history, and the question is often who else will help her out. Case in point, Meesseman scored 107 points during the team’s four Olympic games—the next closest was Kim Mestdagh with 59, and she is no longer on the roster after her father was removed as the team’s head coach. Under coach Mestdagh, Belgium emphasized ball movement in an attempt to create openings, and the team did not depart from the strategy in the qualifying tournament. However, combo guard Hind Ben Abdelkader is someone not on the Olympic team who might also be able to provide a little more individual offensive punch. Other key players include Meesseman’s WNBA teammate Julie Allemand, who masterfully controls the pace of the Belgium offense, and small forward Antonia Delaere, who acts as a steady complementary player. A key for Belgium will be remaining competitive in minutes when the post pairing consists of any duo besides Meesseman and first-choice center Kyara Linskens.
China
China may have only made the quarterfinals at the Olympics and then lost in the FIBA Asia Cup to a noticeably younger Japan team later that fall, but it is primed for a breakout on the international stage. Four years ago, this team scored 88 points and only lost by 12 against the United States, and their center platoon of 6-foot-9 Han Xu and 6-foot-7 Li Yueru was still teenaged. Since then, Han and Li have both made the WNBA, and while Han is the superior WNBA player, Li is the one who has truly entrenched herself on the international stage. Many teams will lack any answer for either of these imposing interior presences.
Of course, if all there was to China were these two centers, that would at most put China on the fringe of contention, especially because the two centers never play together. However, China might also be one of the more balanced teams in the tournament, skilled both offensively and defensively, on the perimeter as well as inside. The team has excellent guard play with Wang Siyu being an extremely tough driver and attacker, Yang LiWei providing a balanced offensive game, and Li Yuan contributing as a traditional floor general. At the forward spots, Li Meng has not been in top form in recent competitions but at her best provides excellent ball-handling, passing, and spot-up shooting while Huang Sijing is the team’s X-factor. Huang is a two-way presence at either forward spot who dropped 30 points on France and averaged 6.7 assists per game in the toughest qualifying tournament group. If China gets strong performances from Huang and at least one of its guards, the team could make a deep, deep run in this tournament.
Korea
Korea is facing a major blow because center Jisu Park will not be joining the team in Australia. There is even more to this than a team missing its only player with WNBA experience. It also goes further than a team going from sporting a 6-foot-6 center to having its tallest player stand 6-foot-1. Korea has revolved around Park in recent years, not just as a defensive anchor but also as a scoring and passing post hub on offense. They will have to play a different style—and probably also use more of their bench—than they generally do.
Something interesting to monitor will be how many shooters Korea employs on the floor. In recent tournaments, Korea has spent long stretches of games playing another post player alongside Jisu Park while occasionally moving young forward Jihyun Park to the 4 spot. Whichever route coach Sunmin Jung uses, or if she finds a more traditional stretch power forward, will help dictate Korea’s style of play. Regardless, Korea will rely on its three key perimeter players more than ever: 5-foot-11 point guard Hyejin Park, sharpshooter and Washington Mystics training camp invitee Leeseul Kang, and veteran small forward Danbi Kim.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is always a tricky team to evaluate. Part of what makes them difficult to assess is the fact that they are so undersized. While that has not stopped teams like Japan in the past, Puerto Rico generally has not been able to surmount this difficulty. Part of the reason why they have struggled to do so may have to do with the fact that their best players have generally been most brilliant as one-on-one scorers. That makes it harder to develop the sort of ball movement-heavy system that those other teams have used to great success. The team has generally been led by 5-foot-5 point guard Jennifer O’Neil and lanky scoring forward Jazmon Gwathmey, but Gwathmey is not on the roster for this iteration. However, two players on the fringes of the WNBA have been injected into the squad and should help alleviate some of these concerns. Arella Guirantes brings strength, scoring, and passing ability on the wing, and she should provide more of a driving threat than this team has sometimes employed. Also, post player Mya Hollingshed, while still undersized compared to other teams’ interior players, is certainly bigger, more athletic, and more skilled than many of the players Puerto Rico has employed there in the past. Especially with Gwathmey out, it might still not be enough to make a dent in the group, but it should at least help to build a foundation for the future.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
This team will go as far as Jonquel Jones, the Mother of Dragons, can take them. That may seem self-evident, but it is especially true because her one of most obvious co-pilots from Eurobasket Women 2021, Marica Gajic, is outside the team for this tournament.* Luckily for coach Goran Lojo and company, Jones is a WNBA MVP with a complete, well-rounded game. We have seen even more from her in international competition, where she shows a level of offensive aggressiveness, especially off the dribble and in transition, that is often obscured to viewers focused on the WNBA. It will be incumbent upon guards Matea Tavic, Andjela Delic, and Miljana Dzombeta to keep the ball moving and the floor spaced. Furthermore, power forward Nikolina Dzebo might be poised for a breakout if the qualifying tournaments are any indication. But the big numbers for Bosnia and Herzegovina are how close to the full 200 minutes Jones can play in the group stage and whether six games and a transcontinental flight in ten days affect her more than her similarly beleaguered opponents.
Australia
The huge story for the World Cup hosts is the return of Lauren Jackson. After more than six years away from the game, she made her return to the court playing in an Australian regional competition this past spring and demonstrated enough value to earn a place in the team. Given the quality of that level of competition, it is difficult to say what Jackson will bring on the court. However, her leadership and experience will be valuable to the team, not to mention drawing attention to the tournament itself.
A slightly less covered story revolves around the team’s roster construction. Sami Whitcomb is probably the closest to a natural point guard on the roster, while Kristy Wallace and Tess Madgen are the only other players on the team whose most natural position is one of the guard spots. Australia has put together unusual, forward-heavy, defensively focused squads like this in the past, but it will be interesting to monitor the Opals’ ball-handling situation as the games progress. Beyond Whitcomb and Wallace, Australia features the most current WNBA players in the tournament outside of the United States with Ezi Magbegor, Rebecca Allen, and Stephanie Talbot all also promising to feature. Other players to watch include former WNBA stretch big Cayla George and forward Anneli Maley, who led the Australian WNBL in both scoring and rebounding this past season before playing a few games for the Chicago Sky as a hardship player.
Canada
In recent years, Canada has put defense at the top of the agenda and relied upon Kia Nurse to carry a lot of the offensive load. It is a role that has led to Nurse individually being inefficient even when she is not playing her first competitive games in almost a year, but she has only just returned to game action after suffering an injury in last season’s WNBA playoffs. The tournament’s extremely condensed schedule might prove especially challenging for her if new coach Victor Lapeña follows a similar offensive game plan to his predecessor, Lisa Thomaidis.
Of course, acknowledging that Canada has put a great deal on Nurse’s shoulders is not to say that it lacks talent elsewhere. WNBA players Natalie Achonwa and Bridget Carleton join Nurse, helping grease the wheels of the offense, and former WNBA center Kayla Alexander is a prolific scorer in overseas action in addition to bringing defensive skills. Another crucial player will be sharpshooter Aislinn Konig. The former North Carolina State guard will be spacing the floor on a team with many players whose offensive game is best attacking the basket, such as Nurse, Nirra Fields, recent Arizona State graduate Mael Gilles, and athletic South Carolina forward Laeticia Amihere. Canada also has a number of young players who are establishing themselves in the national team set-up. Beyond Amihere, who has a fair bit of international experience already under her belt, Taya Hanson and Phillippina Kyei of Oregon will join Gilles in playing their first major tournaments.
France
France boasts a relatively young and inexperienced team. With legendary center Sandrine Gruda not on the roster, the duo of Gabby Williams and Marine Johannès seemed primed to lead this squad until Johannès pulled out of the tournament with a thigh injury. This may prove difficult for France’s roster balance, and Williams or her back-up Sarah Michel might find themselves pushed down to the shooting guard position. Combine this with a lack of international experience at the point guard position—especially if we exclude Marie-Eve Paget’s time representing France in 3x3—and Jean-Aime Toupane’s squad may find themselves at a ballhandling deficit, especially if they do not resort to using lineups with two point guards. This vacuum makes it seem like New York Liberty draft pick Marine Fauthoux is primed for a breakout tournament after taking a clear step forward playing in Euroleague Women this past season, especially because she is by far the most trustworthy to score off drives of the three point guards. Stretch post players Iliana Rupert and Alexia Chartereau can similarly exploit new opportunities to earn major minutes. In addition to the relative youth, Gruda’s absence may lead to a French team that plays smaller and with more spacing than they have in the past. While 6-foot-6 center Helena Ciak has many years of experience playing both for the national team and in Euroleague Women, she may not be treated like a full-blown starter. The team’s only other true 5, Ana Tadic, has never been on the roster for a major tournament before. (Edit. This article erroneously said that Tadic did not play in competitional competition at the club level last season; she actually played in Eurocup Women.)
Japan
For those of you who followed the Japanese team during their incredible run to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, there will be an especially conspicuous absence. Rui Machida, who set the Olympic records for assists and then parlayed that performance into a roster spot with the Washington Mystics, will sit out the tournament in order to rest. However, this would not be the first time Japan changed its point guard and maintained its high-octane style of play. While Tom Hovasse is no longer the team’s coach, Japan did play similarly during the qualifying matches under his replacement, Toru Onzuka. Among the potential replacements, the newly added Shiori Yasuma carries particular interest as the rare Japanese player who plays her club ball in Europe rather than Japan; this coming year, she will be teammates with WNBA players Jessica Shepard and Awak Kuier with Venezia in Italy. Olympic watchers may also notice the absence of shooting specialist Saki Hayashi, although there are indications that 20-year-old Aika Hirashita may be able to fill a similar niche while bringing more size.
Someone who will be back is post player Maki Takada whose excellent skill in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, toughness down low defensively, and stamina help make this team go. She will also receive some major help with the return of Ramu Tokashiki, who missed the Olympics with an injury. At 6-foot-3, the former Seattle Storm player provides Japan with its most traditional post presence. Other players to watch will be Himawari Akaho, a lanky wing who brings considerable value on the defensive end, and Stephanie Mawuli, another one of Japan’s undersized post players who brings more of a face-up off-the-dribble game. Overall, this is definitely the biggest team Japan has featured in quite some time; while Tokashiki may be the only one who is not undersized, the team includes four interior-focused players who are all likely to earn rotation minutes. The question with Japan is always whether the team can shut down opponents’ perimeter players and force enough turnovers to stomach the gargantuan numbers they often concede to other teams’ centers. They have been pulling this off for years now, but it is worth mentioning that Jonquel Jones recorded a whopping 36 points and 23 rebounds in the qualifying tournament in a game where Bosnia and Herzegovina were the winners…by all of five points.
Serbia
Serbia is down four key players from last summer’s Olympics as Sonja Vasic and Jelena Brooks have retired from national team play while Ana Dabovic and Aleksandra Crvendakic are otherwise unavailable. Nikolina Milic, who spent almost the entire WNBA season on hardship contracts with the Minnesota Lynx, is also not on the roster. As she demonstrated in the qualifying tournament, Yvonne Anderson is likely to lead the team offensively as a combo guard capable of scoring at all three levels and distributing to her teammates, while Tina Krajisnik looks to anchor the defense. Both players spent a small part of this season making their WNBA debuts, and while neither is exactly a one-way player, they will each need to bring their “A” game at both ends for Serbia to match the heights they have achieved in years past.
That being said, it is not all doom and gloom for Serbia. Just considering players who have been in the national team set-up for a while, post player Dragana Stankovic is a defensive playmaking extraordinaire while wings Sasa Cado and Nevena Jovanovic are exceptional shooters. Behind them, there are some less experienced players ready to show their worth. Of particular note are Jovana Nogic, a wing who played NCAA ball at Providence and just signed a contract with Euroleague Women powerhouse Perfumerias Avenida, and Ivana Katanic, a bigger traditional point guard who injects some life into a guard rotation that had been both aging and often forced give shooting guards primary ball-handling responsibilities.
Mali
Mali’s key player is recent WNBA draft pick Sika Koné, a strong finisher with great athleticism who does the lion’s share of her work at both ends around the basket. She is dominant on the boards and a good finisher but lacks significant range on her jump shot. If you exclude her youth, this generally serves as an apt summary of the Malian team overall. Djeneba N’Diaye and Touty Gandega are both clearly talented, but they were the only guards listed on the team’s roster at the qualifying tournament. Mali has added more guards to this roster, and there were a few players shorter than 6-foot who attempted a significant number of threes even in that previous action. Despite that, ball-handling, turnover avoidance, and floor spacing are still likely to prove difficult for Mali. Moreover, all five of its opponents have battle-tested stars and strong international track records. The veteran leadership of Meiya Tirera and Kankou Coulibaly will prove invaluable, as will further development from Kone, Kamite Elizabeth Dabou, and Maimouna Haidara. That trio is certainly talented—Kone was projected as high as the first round in some WNBA mock drafts, and Dabou and Haidara both actively contributed to Mali team who finished fourth at the 2021 U19 World Cup despite being two years younger than the competition. But even that may not be enough.
Predictions
Group A
United States
China
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Puerto Rico
Korea
Group B
Japan
Australia
France
Canada
Serbia
Mali
Each Group’s Game of the Day (Note. All days’ slates will begin the previous evening in the United States, at least for West Coast viewers)
September 22: Group A United States-Belgium, Group B Australia-France
September 23: Group A China-Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group B France-Canada
September 24: Group A United States-China
September 25: Group B Australia-Serbia
September 26: Group A Belgium-Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group B France-Japan
September 27: Group A United States-Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group B Serbia-France
Title Favorite - United States
Most Likely to Upset United States - China
We hope that you are as excited for the upcoming tournament as we are! American viewers can catch the action live on ESPN+.
*Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Nikolina Babic was not on the Bosnia and Herzegovina team. Babic is now Nikolina Knezevic, and is on the roster.
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