FIBA World Cup 2023: Looking back at 5 greatest performances of all time, ft. Dirk Nowitzki, Drazen Petrovic and more
The FIBA World Cup 2023 headlines summer's basketball action and is expected to feature some of the best basketball players in the world.
The major tournament is set to take place from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
Over the years, some of the best players in basketball history have competed in the FIBA World Cup and have made some stunning performances. That said, here are the five greatest performances of all time:
#5, Drazen Petrovic, Yugoslavia (1986)
Drazen Petrovic was one of the best players in basketball history. An amazing scorer with a repertoire of moves and great offensive skills, he was part of the great Yugoslavia team that was among the top national teams in the world in the late 80s and early 90s.
The Yugoslavians finished third in the 1982 and 1986 FIBA World Cup and claimed gold four years later in 1990.
At the 1986 event in Spain, Petrovic ran onto the floor for a game against the Netherlands and scored 47 points, leading his team to a 95-74 triumph. One of the game's finest players, Drazen Petrovic died in a crash crash in 1993 at the age of 29.
#4, Dirk Nowitzki, Germany (2006)
Of the many games that Dirk Nowitzki played for Germany in his illustrious career, his performance in the 2006 FIBA World Cup stands above the rest.
On August 24, Nowitzki, posted 47 points as Germany claimed a 108-103 triple overtime victory over Angola. Nowitzki also had 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the game.
The victory put Germany into a Round of 16 clash with Nigeria and a 78-77 victory that secured a top-eight finish for the Germans. Their hopes of a podium finish were extinguished when Team USA beat them in the Quarter-Finals.
#3, Oscar Schmidt, Brazil (1990)
Coming into the 1990 FIBA World Cup, Oscar Schmidt had already played at three World Cups and three Olympics. At the 1986 tournament, Schmidt averaged 28.1 points per game but he finished second in the tournament to Nikos Galis' 33.7 points average.
Brazil faced Australia again in the Classification 5-8 games and Oscar Schmidt went off this time for 52 points. He then dropped 44 points on Greece to give Brazil fifth place in the tournament. Schmidt averaged 34.6 points per game in the competition.
#2, Nick Galis, Greece (1986)
Nick Galis played in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he led all players in scoring average with 33.0 points per game. In that tournament, he had a 53-point outburst against Panama, as the Greeks finished 10th with a 4-6 record.
Galis next led the Greek national team to the 1987 FIBA European Championship gold medal. Averaging 37.0 points per game during the tournament, he was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring 40 points in the final against the Soviet Union featuring the legendary Šarūnas Marčiulionis for a 103-101 victory.
Nick Galis also led Greece to second place at the 1989 FIBA European Championship, averaging 35.6 points per game.
#1, Hur Jae, South Korea (1990)
Korea's Hur Jae had a record 54 points in a 117-115 win over Egypt at the FIBA World Cup in 1990. Hur also played at the FIBA World Cup in two other editions (1986, 1994).
He was among the most electrifying scorers at the 1990 World Cup in Argentina, where the then 24-year-old turned a lot of heads by scoring 54 points in a 117-115 victory over Egypt.
Even to this day, Hur's 54-point showing in that contest is still the highest single-game scoring performance in any World Cup match.