MANILA (Philippines) – FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 marks the first time that there are awards for the Best Defensive Player, Best Coach, and an All-Second Team in this men’s national team competition.
The All-Second Team honors go to Arturs Zagars of Latvia, Simone Fontecchio of Italy, Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania, Nikola Milutinov of Serbia and Franz Wagner of Germany.
Latvia had a very reliable core, yet their 5th place finish is impossible to imagine without the wizardry of point guard Arturs Zagars. Their great team basketball started with the 23-year-old who led Latvia through a few tight fourth quarters, averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 assists per contest. He put a bow on his heroics with a World Cup record-breaking performance of 17 assists and 0 turnovers against Lithuania.
Simone Fontecchio only continued what he had started in Tokyo 2020 and FIBA EuroBasket 2022, again proving himself as one of the very best scorers in the world. The Italian forward averaged 18.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, with his 30-point performance in a comeback victory against Serbia being his main tournament masterpiece that helped Italy land a spot in the Quarter-Finals.
Few have combined reliable low post scoring and unstoppable rebounding like Jonas Valanciunas has. Valanciunas put up a steady 14.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game across the World Cup, which included a sensational victory against USA. The Lithuanian center is now the second player (with Jose Ortiz) to have recorded multiple double-doubles in three World Cup tournaments since 1994.
Nikola Milutinov was consistent around both baskets for finalists Serbia throughout the whole World Cup. The 28-year-old center was their main frontcourt option and averaged 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Excellent execution of fundamentals was his main calling card, which manifests itself in his great 66.1% shooting from the field and several very efficient games.
Franz Wagner recovered from an ankle injury during the World Cup and continued to play as if nothing had happened. His 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game don’t even tell the whole story. The 21-year-old was instrumental in all elimination games, first with 16 points off the bench in a thriller with Latvia, then scoring 22 in Germany’s memorable triumph against USA and finished it out with 19 points in the Final.
The Best Defensive Player is Dillon Brooks, who was more than glad to accept any defensive responsibilities for Bronze medalists Canada. His physical one-on-one defense against the likes of Luka Doncic and Evan Fournier played a huge role in important victories for The Land of Maple Leaf. Moreover, he was an integral part of one of the best defensive units in the World Cup.
The Best Coach honors go to Latvia head coach Luca Banchi. Not only is he the author of Latvia’s run for the 5th place in their first-ever World Cup, but he’s also led the team to a fantastic 21-3 record ever since he took over before the World Cup Pre-Qualifiers. Under his wing Latvia played a beautiful brand of basketball with 24.4 assists per game as everyone who stepped on the court for Banchi stood the test of facing the best stars in the world.
FIBA
