The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup has been a thrill to this point, with some of the top talents in the world taking the court. The opening round of the tournament has passed, with a few surprises in terms of which teams have looked better or worse than expected.

Through the eight group play games that members of the Oklahoma City Thunder were involved in thus far, nearly every single game was won by a player set to potentially wear an OKC jersey in the upcoming season. The three teams that are currently represented by Thunder players all advanced to the second round, but now face an even tougher test.

With the next round set to begin on Friday, what is ahead for the five members of the Thunder?

Players

Outside of Luka Doncic (Slovenia), there’s not another player as good as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this event. He’s led Canada to three blowout victories and has proven this is a team that could really win it all.

This is a similar story to Josh Giddey’s situation with Australia. While the Boomers lost a close game during group play, Australia has looked like one of the best teams in this tournament. Giddey has been a headliner of the entire event, notching high assist numbers and scoring at will.

Davis Bertans, Lu Dort and Jack White have also put together solid performances, but in more complimentary roles.

Team Odds

The tournament started with 32 teams, but cuts are beginning to happen. While championship odds have shifted since the start, Canada and Australia remain among the biggest favorites behind the United States. In what has been a jump, Latvia has moved from the middle of the pack to sixth highest championship odds over the past week.

Schedule

This event began on Aug. 25 and will conclude on Sep. 10, just six weeks before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. Now that initial group play is done, the top two teams from each group now advance to the second round, while the bottom two compete in two classification games to determine the bottom 16 rankings. In the second round, there will be four groups of four made up of the teams that advanced from the first round, again playing each other once. The top two teams from from the bottom 16 groups will qualify for the final phase.

Between now and Tuesday, six different games will feature members of the Thunder, split between Friday and Sunday.

Sep. 1:

Sep. 3:

From here, each team is carrying its first-round records into this phase, where they will compete for a spot in the quarterfinals. The top two teams of the four groups will qualify for the final round.

Bigger picture, the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, will qualify for the upcoming Olympics alongside the host country in France. As such, there’s a lot on the lines in these contests.

It will be interesting to see roles unfold in the second round. Dort missed time due to a precautionary injury, while Bertans didn’t play as much as he could have due to circumstance and two of Latvia’s three games not being close contests. Expect both of these players to have a larger role moving forward as the stakes get higher.