The United States’ greatest threat in the 2014 FIBA World Cup got some bad luck in the scheduling department. Spain’s good news comes in that it’s at home and nevertheless is exceptionally equipped to come out of a very difficult and randomly-selected opening group stage.
FIBA World Cup 2014 preview: Spain is Team USA’s No. 1 threat
The Spanish players are hoping the experience of playing with one another for so long will end in a World Cup first-place finish.
Christian Petersen
Spain returns a roster with six NBA players, plenty of experience with one another in international play and depth across the board. The Gasol brothers may not even be joined in the starting lineup by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka or Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio -- that sums up the talent at hand.
But before it gets to challenging the Americans, Spain will face a deep Group A round-robin that also features top contenders Brazil, France and Serbia.
How they got here
As the host nation for the World Cup, Spain was handed an automatic berth. That said, the team finished a somewhat disappointing third place in the 2013 EuroBasket tournament, behind gold medal winner France and a surprising Lithuanian squad. The Spaniards fell to France in overtime of the semifinals during that tournament and handily beat Croatia in the third-place match.
Spain fell to the United States and won the silver medal in the 2012 London games, its last worldwide competition.
Key players
2014 FIBA World Cup
Marc Gasol: The Grizzlies center earned All-EuroBasket honors last summer by averaging 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. On a team with so much depth across the board, Gasol's average of 30 minutes per game last summer was nearly seven minutes more than the next-most-used player.
Ricky Rubio: The lead assist man and best perimeter defender will split time with a deep group of point guards, but he’ll be key when Spain faces guard-oriented squads like the United States, France and Slovenia.
Pau Gasol: The new member of the Chicago Bulls wasn't with Spain last summer and should give his brother a little more rest this go-around.
Serge Ibaka: Likely a member of the bench unit, Ibaka’s role as rebounder and shot-blocker shows just how deep the Spanish squad can be.
Jose Calderon: The starting point guard will be a shooting threat and will lead the crop of guards that also includes Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodriguez and Juan Carlos Navarro.
Rudy Fernandez: The swingman joins Blazers forward Victor Claver on the wing and is one of three former NBA players. Rogriguez and Navarro also had brief stints in the Association.
Medal chances
It would be considered a major disappointment if Spain didn’t walk away with a medal. There’s simply too much talent here. After falling to the United States in the gold medal game of the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Spain will seek revenge on its home soil against the U.S. team that is much greener than the one it faced in London. You can make the argument Spain has the best frontcourt in the tournament, and the roster as a whole isn’t lacking in any one department.
Of course, anything can happen in a single elimination tournament and there will be a few teams who can give Spain a run for its money. Spain has NBA-level talent all over the roster, but its depth on the wing is young and inexperienced. Marc Gasol and Ibaka are tremendous rim protectors, but Calderon and Fernandez are vulnerable on that side of the ball. If the perimeter defense shows up, Spain will be tough to beat.
Schedule
Group A
Aug. 30 vs. Iran
Aug. 31 vs. Egypt
Sept. 1 vs. Brazil
Sept. 3 vs. France
Sept. 4 vs. Serbia
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