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

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

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