3 Hidden Benefits of OKC Thunder players participating in FIBA World Cup

The OKC Thunder are well-represented at the 2023 FIBA World Cup tournament. Headlined by Jack White and Josh Giddey representing Team Australia, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, leading the way for Team Canada.

We get our first taste of some form of Thunder basketball action since the end of Summer League this week as Team Canada and Team Australia begin World Cup exhibition play this week. However, the benefits to the OKC Thunder being so well represented at the FIBA World Cup tournament go beyond just tiding fans over until the start of the NBA regular season.

3 Hidden benefits of the OKC Thunder are well represented at the 2023 FIBA World Cup tournament.

Along with the four players mentioned above, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will participate in Team USA’s select as practice players to improve the main club. Aleksej Pokusevski and Vasilije Micic were poised to play in FIBA together, but injuries have sidelined them for the tournament (though both will be ready to go by training camp).

Davis Bertans (Latvia) and Usman Garuba (Spain) are also poised to play in the FIBA World Cup for their respective countries. What are three hidden benefits of the OKC Thunder being represented well at this end of Summer classic?

OKC Thunder guards Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting to lead their own teams is key for development.

As part of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the OKC Thunder will see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey leading the way for their respective countries. Each bench boss has praised the pair’s ability to lead the way in that top-priority ball-handling role—a responsibility they share with the OKC Thunder.

Obviously, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being a 31-point-per-game scorer, he is going to get the lion’s share of the on-ball opportunities. However, the beauty of Gilgeous-Alexander’s game is his ability to play off the ball with one of the best young playmakers in the NBA, Josh Giddey. Figuring out the ratio of on-and-off ball duties for that tandem will continue to be a work in process, which has improved month-by-month since Josh Giddey was selected by the OKC Thunder 6th overall in 2021.

Josh Giddey will be able to run the show on the Australian team, and in so, he will be able to develop his ability to get to the basket, score, and of course, play make to the fellow NBA players on his roster.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has already had more experience running the show at the NBA level, but even more time on the ball working with on-the-fly put-together lineups, will still be fun to watch for OKC Thunder fans.

Ultimately, gaining experience to lead their respective teams can only strengthen the duo, with training camp right around the corner.

Jack White needs to play more meaningful basketball, and gelling with OKC Thunder guard Josh Giddey might just do the trick.

The OKC Thunder have an overflowing roster, with five cuts set to be made before the start of the regular season; Jack White finds himself squarely on the roster bubble. After an impressive G League stint with the Denver Nuggets on a two-way pact, the Thunder surprisingly inked Jack White to a two-year standard contract this summer. However, given the little financial commitment, it is easy to envision OKC parting ways with White before the regular season begins. It would not be the first time Presti canned an offseason signee before the ball tipped in October.

However, Jack White is a special case. He has an obvious connection with fellow Australian Josh Giddey, and he can really play!

Jack White was second on the Grand Rapids Gold in Points per game (18.3), posting nine rebounds, a steal, and nearly a block per game. White shot 56 percent from the field, 43 percent from beyond the arc (three attempts per game), and 76 percent at the charity stripe in his 26 games played for the Gold.

White fills out a 6’7 225 pound frame as the 26-year-old is looking for his first real shot in the NBA. White was called up for 17 games a year ago in the Nuggets system, averaging four minutes a night.

Ultimately, Jack White is an undersized big man who shoots 62 percent at the rim, an impressive 46 percent on catch-and-shoot chances, as well as dominating as a cutter to the tune of 1.377 points per possession.

Playing in the FIBA World Cup allows White to show off his progress, mesh with Josh Giddey, and impress OKC decision-makers ahead of an important training camp in Bricktown.

The OKC Thunder youngsters pushed Team USA and got better in the process.

Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were each tabbed to the Team USA Select squad, a unit tasked with preparing the varsity USA squad for the 2023 World Cup. While the 2022 Lottery picks will only see game action in case of a possible injury replacement, it is still an added benefit for the duo.

Since the beginning of International competition, players have bragged about how playing in the summer against NBA players in a more competitive environment helps them grow. Even last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attributed his growth to playing in the Team Canada FIBA qualifiers.

This young OKC duo are self-proclaimed basketball junkies, so being a sponge around top-tier NBA talent and a Team USA coaching staff that is made up of the likes of Steve Kerr, Chip Engelland, and other elite names, is going to help their games grow.

Especially for Chet Holmgren, who needs as much game-like playing time as he can get after being shelved for a year with a foot injury. Jalen Williams was able to get in more runs after putting on a ton of muscle mass this Summer, and the select team turned heads.

Led by Cade Cunningham and the Thunder duo, the select squad knocked off the varsity USA team twice in ten-minute scrimmages during training camp in Vegas.