The Bahamas could potentially explore the national team availability of Evan and Isaiah Mobley and Naz Reid, according to Marc Stein of Substack.

All three players have Bahamian eligibility, though Evan Mobley has played for Team USA in two junior competitions.

Lead by Eric Gordon, The Bahamas recently qualified for next summer's Olympic basketball qualifiers. 

France is headed home from the 2023 FIBA World Cup much earlier than anyone expected. Following a loss to Canada in their opener, France fell to Latvia and has no chance of advancing to the knockout round.

“I’ve never been ashamed with this jersey, but this is the first time I’m ashamed,” LA Clippers forward Nic Batum said in the post-game presser. “I’m scared to go home because we let a lot of people down. A lot of people believed in us to do something special. We didn’t do it.”

Teammate Evan Fournier echoed Batum's disappointment.

“We got to go home,” Fournier said. “It’s very tough. Very hard. We didn’t think we would leave the tournament like this.”

Despite being knocked out of the World Cup earlier than expected, France will still feature in the 2024 Summer Olympics. They are automatically qualified for the games as the host nation.

Brandon Ingram would like a bigger role with Team USA than the one he's had so far this summer. But Ingram isn't going to let that get in the way of the team's success, even if it's not what he envisioned.

“This is totally different than what I am used to,” Ingram told The Athletic Sunday. “The team is winning right now, so I can’t be selfish thinking about myself. But it’s a little frustrating right now for me, and I’m just trying to figure out ways I can be effective.”

Ingram has the ball a lot less with Team USA than in his role as the New Orleans Pelicans primary playmaker. That's been an adjustment, but it's one Ingram said he think can pay off in the NBA, as well.

“I know who I am,” Ingram said. “In ways, I can get stuck and think my way is the best way. This is a learning experience. … I get to see everybody work, get to see everybody’s strengths and everybody’s weaknesses, so I can take it back to my team, be smart about it.”

Franz Wagner turned his left ankle in Germany's World Cup opening victory over Japan. German team doctor, Oliver Putz, said the team ruled out any serious injuries after examining Wagner.

"Nothing is broken, torn, or anything like this; things that would end the FIBA World Cup for him," Putz said. "Franz feels better this morning than yesterday. We did another MRI this morning. But, the problem is that we don't have the imaging yet, so we can't say exactly what's hurt yet."

Luka Doncic and Slovenia got off to a 1-0 start at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Doncic led Slovenia to a 100-85 victory over Venezuela in their Group F opener.

Following the game, Doncic made it clear he'll represent his country whenever he's able to do so. He said missing the playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks last season didn't influence him on playing in the World Cup this summer.

“Every time I can play for the national team, I will play," Doncic said. "Representing your country, you are always motivated, no matter what happens in the season. Obviously, it was disappointing that we could not make the Playoffs, but playing for your country is special. It is from the heart. And representing your country, it is amazing.”

There are a record 55 current NBA players competing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The tournament will feature a record 106 combined current NBA players, NBA draftees, and players with NBA experience, up from 103 in 2019. 

Twenty-seven of the 32 participating national teams have at least one current NBA player, NBA draftee or a player with NBA experience, and national team rosters include 10 former NBA All-Stars: Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves; USA), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder; Canada), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves; France), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers; USA), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans; USA), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies; USA), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland), Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves; Dominican Republic) and Nikola Vučević (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro).

Outside of the United States, which features a tournament-high 12 NBA players, Australia has the most current NBA players (nine), followed by Canada (seven) and Germany (four). 

Angola
Bruno Fernando, Atlanta Hawks

Australia
Patty Mills, Atlanta Hawks
Josh Green, Dallas Mavericks
Jack White, Oklahoma City Thunder
Joe Ingles, Orlando Magic
Dyson Daniels, New Orleans Pelicans
Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
Matisse Thybulle, Portland Trail Blazers
Xavier Cooks, Washington Wizards
Dante Exum, Dallas Mavericks

Canada
Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder
Dillon Brooks, Houston Rockets
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves
RJ Barrett, New York Knicks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz

China
Kyle Anderson, Minnesota Timberwolves

Dominican Republic
Lester Quiñones, Golden State Warriors
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Finland
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz

France
Nicolas Batum, Los Angeles Clippers
Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
Evan Fournier, New York Knicks

Georgia
Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic
Sandro Mamukelashvili, San Antonio Spurs

Germany
Daniel Theis, Indiana Pacers
Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Dennis Schroder, Toronto Raptors

Greece
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Italy
Simone Fontecchio, Utah Jazz

Japan
Yuta Watanabe, Phoenix Suns

Latvia
Dāvis Bertāns, Oklahoma City Thunder

Lithuania
Jonas Valančiūnas, New Orleans Pelicans

Montenegro
Nikola Vučević, Chicago Bulls

Philippines
Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz

Serbia
Bogdan Bogdanović, Atlanta Hawks
Nikola Jović, Miami Heat
Filip Petrušev, Philadelphia 76ers

Slovenia
Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks

South Sudan
Carlik Jones, Chicago Bulls

Spain
Santi Aldama, Memphis Grizzlies

USA
Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana PacersUSA
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Josh Hart, New York Knicks
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz

Steve Kerr had initially planned for Anthony Edwards to come off the bench for the United States in a role similar to Dwyane Wade played when Kobe Bryant started at shooting guard. 

Edwards didn't agree with Kerr and has since emerged as one of their best players and a definitive starter. 

“I mean, of course I wasn’t cool with it,” Edwards said. “If that’s what it takes, I mean, I am willing to do it, but nah, I’m never cool with that. … He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, all right, we don’t have a Kobe, but all right. But it was cool.”

Edwards enters the World Cup averaging 19.2 points in their exhibition games.

Khaman Maluach has been named to the FIBA World Cup roster of South Sudan at the age of 16, making him the third-youngest player in the event's history.

The 7-foot-2 Maluach is a member of the NBA Africa Academy in Senegal, which he joined as a high school freshman in 2021, two years after he started playing basketball seriously while living in Uganda.

Maluach, who is slated to graduate high school in the summer of 2025, has scholarship offers from Duke, UCLA and Georgetown. He also has the option of going straight to the NBA draft as a 2006-born international prospect.

"Khaman's future is bright; everyone sees that," South Sudan basketball federation president Luol Deng told ESPN. "He is going to be a great player and it's exciting that people will get see him at the World Cup stage. This will be a great experience for him."

Steve Kerr called praised Anthony Edwards following Team USA's 99-91 win over Germany on Sunday, calling him "unquestionably the guy."

"He's unquestionably the guy. You can see he knows it. But now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it. ... He genuinely believes he's the best player in the gym every single night. And he's such a dynamic young player. I think he's taking a leap," said Kerr.

Edwards finished the game with 34 points for Team USA, which went 5-0 in the lead up to the World Cup. 

With Kerr seeing Edwards as the team's No. 1 option, the guard averaged 19.2 points per game on 50% shooting from the field over the five games.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points against Germany and closed out the game ahead of starter Jalen Brunson.

The Bahamas defeated Argentina 82-75 on Sunday to earn a place in next summer's Olympic basketball qualifiers.

Coached by Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, Eric Gordon lead the team with 27 points. Deandre Ayton also finished with 21 rebounds.

The Olympic qualifiers features 24 teams spread across four groups of six. The winner of each group will win a wild card berth for the Paris Olympics.

The Bahamas have never qualified for the Olympics in men's basketball.