Pau Gasol names top 3 favorites to win 2023 FIBA World Cup / News - Basketnews.com

Pau Gasol has ranked Spain as one of his top three favorites to take home the championship at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

International basketball star Pau Gasol ranked his top 3 favorites to win the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

Pau Gasol

Position:PFAge:42Height:213 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:Barcelona, SpainProfileNewsStatistics

"I think you have to be with a champion, which is Spain," Gasol smiled in an interview with BasketNews. "Which also happens to be the No. 1 in FIBA rankings."

Spain recently made history by overtaking the US in the FIBA ranking to become only the second nation to top the list since its introduction in 2010.

Spain's jump was boosted by capturing the titles at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.

"Team USA is the next one. That would be my number two," Gasol added.

After a 7th-place finish in the previous World Cup, the American team emerged victorious in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

"And then number three... You have to think about whether France or Slovenia. Those are my two. It just depends on who ends up... I would go with Slovenia," Gasol came to a conclusion.

"France has been great for the last few championships. Let's see if they can continue to deliver at the level that they had in the last few years. Because, at some point, they might decline. I don't know if that's going to be this World Cup. They still have a pretty young core. But they still have to perform," Gasol weighed in on the chances of the EuroBasket and Olympic runner-up.

France has made it to the podium in the last three major FIBA competitions, earning silver medals in the 2022 EuroBasket and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and bronze medals in the 2019 World Cup.

"I go with Slovenia because Luka always gives them a chance to be up there, and he competes very hard," Gasol explained his pick.

Poland sensationally eliminated Slovenia in the previous EuroBasket.

The 2017 EuroBasket champions did not participate in the last World Cup held in China.

In his final two games as a professional, Gasol faced off against Slovenia and the United States.

Pau Gasol picks five FIBA World Cup stars to beat Team USA

International basketball icon Pau Gasol has teamed up with Argentine standout Luis Scola as Global Ambassadors for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

After retiring from basketball in 2021, Gasol has taken on the role of ambassador for the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney, and he's a member of the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission.

The 2023 World Cup will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25th to September 10th and will be hosted by the three nations for the first time. Seventeen teams, including defending champion Spain, have already secured their spots in the tournament, with 15 more teams to qualify during the final qualification window.

The qualified teams are Japan, Philippines, Australia, Canada, China, Cote D'Ivoire, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, New Zealand, Slovenia, and Spain.

The tournament draw will take place on April 29th in Manila.

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