Australia announces final 12-man roster for FIBA World Cup / News - Basketnews.com

Nine NBA players headline Australia's FIBA World Cup squad. Eight players (Mills, Ingles, Thybulle, Exum, Green, Kay, Goulding, and Reath) will back up from the Olympic team, which won bronze in Tokyo Olympic Games.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The 12-man Australian Boomers team to contest the 2023 FIBA World Cup has been officially confirmed ahead of their opening Group E game against Finland on Friday.

Australia / Schedule

Finland AustraliaFri08:00 Australia GermanySun08:30 Australia Japan08-2911:10

The Boomers will be co-captained by Patty Mills, playing his third FIBA World Cup, and Joe Ingles, who heads into his fourth campaign. Nine NBA players suit up in the green and gold, with head coach Brian Goorjian at the helm of the Boomers, having taken Australia to three Olympic Games, including the landmark bronze medal in Tokyo.

Coaching at his second FIBA World Cup, Goorjian says he is excited about the mix of talent in the team.

"We're looking forward to the challenge ahead," Goorjian said. "We've introduced some exciting new prospects into the group and developed a style of play both offensively and defensively that we'll take into the tournament."

"It's clearly a tough tournament, but we're confident in our blueprint on what we need to do to win gold."

Co-Captains Mills and Ingles say the team is focused on a common goal.

"It's been an incredible campaign up to this point. As a team, we have been able to do great things while training in Cairns and playing practice games in Melbourne, Tokyo, and Okinawa.

We have a great group of extremely talented players who have been working hard both on and off the court. We all share a common goal, and that is to bring home the gold."

"We are excited to go up against the best in the world and represent Australia."

Following the historic bronze in Tokyo, the Boomers are aiming to claim their first medal at the FIBA World Cup. Eight players (Mills, Ingles, Thybulle, Exum, Green, Kay, Goulding, Reath) will back up from that Olympic team, while 20-year-old Josh Giddey leads a group of young guns, including Josh Green and Dyson Daniels.

Australia is currently ranked third in the world behind Spain and the USA, with the FIBA World Cup representing a key opportunity for the Boomers to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The top-finishing team from Oceania will qualify for Paris, Australia, needing to finish higher than New Zealand to earn the quota spot.

The Boomers are coming off wins in practice games in Japan against France (78-74) and Georgia (86-81) and have been drawn to play Finland, Germany, and Japan in the first round of the Group Phase in Okinawa, Japan.

Australia 12-man roster

Player Team Xavier Cooks Washington Wizards Dyson Daniels New Orleans Pelicans Dante Exum Dallas Mavericks Josh Giddey Oklahoma City Thunder Josh Green Dallas Mavericks Chris Goulding Paris Basketball Joe Ingles Milwaukee Bucks Nick Kay Shimane Susanoo Magic Patty Mills Brooklyn Nets Duop Reath Al Riyadi Beirut Matisse Thybulle Philadelphia 76ers Jack White Denver Nuggets/Grand Rapids Gold

Boomers Coaches & Staff

Brian Goorjian, Head Coach Matthew Nielsen, Assistant Coach Adam Caporn, Assistant Coach David Patrick, Assistant Coach Jacob Chance, Head of Video & Analytics Dr. Brendon Aubrey, Team Doctor David Hillard, Head Physiotherapist Ryan Carroll, Team Physiotherapist Albert (Junior) Viarantuleo, Team Manager Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.