Betting Odds: Canada, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Hold Second-Best Odds to Win FIBA World Cup

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The Oklahoma City Thunder has a few of its top talents representing their national teams in the FIBA World Cup. One of those is First Team All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading Canada.
According to Covers, Canada and Gilgeous-Alexander hold the second-best odds of winning the World Cup. They hold one of the most talented rosters across the entire tournament. Another NBA talent on Canada's roster is Thunder guard Lu Dort.
The team holds +600 odds (DraftKings) to win the tournament, which is second behind the United States, who hold -120 odds (DraftKings) as the favorite.
ESPN analyst Brain Windhorst has claimed Gilgeous-Alexander to be the best, or close to the best, player in the entire tournament. It's no surprise that his team holds good odds to win the tournament. They begin play on Aug. 25 at 8:30 a.m. CT against France, who holds the third-best odds to win the tournament.
Josh Giddey and Jack White are two more representatives from the Thunder in the World Cup, both playing with Australia, who holds +900 odds (DraftKings) of winning the tournament.
Something unique about both Canada and Australia is that they've got Thunder guards leading the way entering group play of the tournament. They've also both got top-five odds to win the entire tournament.
This is a great testament to the talent the Thunder has brought on during its rebuild. To have two different players early in their careers leading their national teams shows that the team has done exactly what it needs to do early in the rebuild.
The Thunder has been gaining traction in the national media throughout the offseason, and even late into last season. This will only continue as the team's young core continues taking over the NBA and international basketball alike.
With World Cup play just a day away, Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, White and Dort are going to be an interesting watch as they all have a chance to play for medals this year.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022.