It took me a lot of work, so please read the whole thing, like, flame and comment.
Tier 4: Watch out 👀
Not superteams at all, but they could surprise you
Ukraine 🇺🇦♠️
Projected lineup:
Oleksandr Kovilar, Svi Mykhailiuk, Ivan Tkachenko, Oleksandr Lypovyy, Artem Pustovyi
This team isn't bad. Svi is a different guy when he plays for Ukraine. At the moment of writing this, he leads the European World Cup Qualifiers in ppg, with 29, and is also posting 30.5 PIR. The rest, I'll be honest, I didn't know most of them. I know Pustovyi can be a great presence in the paint (7'1"), andthat they beat Georgia and Denmark twice, so they aren't bad.
Portugal 🇵🇹🌊
Travante Williams, Diogo Brito, Vladyslav Voytso, Candido Sa, Neemias Queta.
Last year in the EuroBasket they were close to knocking Germany, the eventual champs, out in the round of 16. But the truth is Queta carried them with 15+8+2 blocks. In general, they have o improve that 3 pt shot (just 24.7% in the EuroBasket) if they want a shot at the knockouts.
Puerto Rico 🇵🇷🐰
Projected lineup:
Jezreel de Jesús, José Alvarado, Chris Ortiz, Enrique Freeman, George Conditt IV.
This team has got some potential. They got into the olympics beating a strong team like Lithuania, but at home. Alvarado will have to be at his best (he had 18+5 in the AmeriCup), and Conditt will have to perform like he did last summer (9+8+2 blocks). Enrique Freeman is an elite addition (18+9 in the G-League), and they can make some noise.
Georgia 🇬🇪💪
Projected lineup:
Kamar Baldwin, Duda Sanadze, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Tornike Shengelia, Goga Bitzade.
Good starting 5. Elite rebounding. Toko just vroke teh record of most points in a Qualifiers game. But they will have to sort out some things if they want to advance to the World Cup.
Sweden 🇸🇪🔫
Projected lineup:
Ludvig Hakason, Melwin Pantzar, Bobi Klintman, Pelle Larsson, Simon Birgander.
Their starting 5 is strong. Birgander (7+5), Ludde (8 pts with 41% from deep) and Pantzar (11+4+4 with 43% from behind the arc) have been really solid in the Spanish league, and Larsson and Klintman played in the NBA. In the EuroBasket they managed to be in the knockouts, even though they had 1 win and 4 losses, which is not good, but the talent is there.
Bahamas 🇧🇸🏴☠️
Projected lineup:
Domnick Bridgewater, Buddy Hield, VJ Edgecombe, Isaiah Mobley, DeAndre Ayton
Name by name, they sound exciting. But I watched them live a few years ago, and it was a Buddy-shoots-100-threes shitshow. And their depth is uh... it is not deep. But we all can agree that they're talented. Other than the NBAs, Bridgewater was the top scorer of the AmeriCup (21), and Mobley had 17+8 with Delaware in the G-League. So the potential is there.
Senegal 🇸🇳🌠
Projected lineup:
Brancou Badio, Jean Jacques Boissy, Mbaye Ndiaye, Mustapha Diop, Ibrahima Faye.
It's for me the best team in Africa. 3d in last year's AfroBasket, their athleticism is elite, most of the squad is over 6'7", with Tacko Fall at 7'6". Then Brancou Badio has been averaging 20+6 assists in the Qualifiers. They could surprise us.
Japan 🇯🇵🐜
Projected lineup:
Yuki Kawamura, Hirotaka Yoshii, Yuta Watanabe, Rui Hachimura, Josh Hawkinson.
The first Asiatic team on this ranking. In the Olympics, they did a decent job, even though they went 0-3. They forced OT against the eventual silver medal France. Yuki was incredible, with 20.3 points and 7.7 assists. Rui had 22+7, and Hawkinson had 18+10 on 9/12 from three. But 78 out of their 83 ppg came from their starting 5, so they really lack depth, and short rotations don't get you anywhere.
South Sudan 🇸🇸✊️
Projected lineup:
Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok, Nuni Omot, Wenyen Gabriel, Khaman Maluach.
The youngest country in the world (they got independent from Sudan in 2014), and the #1 African team in the FIBA ranking. They surprised the basketball world 3 years ago by qualifying for the olympics, but now they could miss the World Cup because their stars don't play the Qualifiers. Carlik is a star in European basketball, and averaged 18+ 8 assists in the Olympics. Maluach will come off his second year and will provide even more to the already elite rebounding and rim protection Gabriel and JT Thor already granted. Nuni and Bul Kuol combined for 3.7 steals per game, so their perimeter defense is also good. And then of course they are very athletic. A very solid team
Angola 🇦🇴🌇
Projected lineup:
Childe Dundao, Selton Miguel, Kevin Kokila, Bruno Fernando, Jilson Bango
The champs of Africa. Bango and Fernando are a very good pair of centers, and Dundao was great with 16+6 ast in the AfroBasket. Kokila just signed for a Euroleague powerhouse like Dubai. They for sure can make noise.