OKC Thunder Players Shine in FIBA World Cup Tuesday Slate

On Tuesday, Oklahoma City had multiple representatives in action on the international stage.

One of the world's premier international basketball tournaments is in full swing.

Oklahoma City Thunder players Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Davis Bertans and Jack White all took the floor on Tuesday morning for their third and final game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup group play round. 

Giddey, White and the rest of Team Australia took down Japan 109-89 to improve the Boomers' record to 2-1. Japan fell to 1-2 following the 20-point loss. 

Giddey, who is still only 20-years-old, looked phenomenal, finishing with a team-high 26 points in addition to 11 assists and five rebounds. The Thunder guard shot 10-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. 

Additionally, Giddey got to the free throw line six times for the second consecutive game. In his second season with Oklahoma City, Giddey averaged only 1.9 free throw attempts per game. 

If the 6-foot-8 Aussie point guard can translate his ability to draw fouls in FIBA to the NBA this year, we will likely see another uptick in Giddey's scoring output in 2023-24.

Similar to Team Australia's opening contest and the squad's exhibition matches, Giddey looked confident and aggressive against Team Japan.

White didn't have a massive statistical performance by any means, but once again filled his role and provided the spacing and defensive ability that Australia needs. The 6-foot-7 forward went 1-for-1 from the field, scoring two points and grabbing an offensive rebound in the team's final group play match.

The final game of Tuesday's slate featured three Oklahoma City players, as Bertans and Team Latvia squared off against Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort and Team Canada. In what was a tightly contested game in the first half, Canada demolished Latvia after halftime, eventually winning 101-75.

Gilgeous-Alexander was phenomenal once again, finishing with 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Dort logged zero minutes for the second consecutive game but could see more playing time in the next round. 

With the win, Canada finishes the group play stage with an impressive 3-0 record. 

For Latvia, Bertans tallied seven points, five rebounds and two assists in the loss.

With only two combined losses between Latvia, Canada and Australia in the group play stage, it appears that all five of the Thunder representatives in the tournament will move on to the next round. 

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