Not USA-centric FIBA World Cup: Steve Kerr shows respect for elite Euro rivals

MANILA, Philippines – Fan attention at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila has largely revolved around mighty USA Basketball and for good reason, given its star-studded, all-NBA composition.

Through no fault of the Americans, interest and attendance numbers have unfortunately not been at the same level with other world-class teams, including the likes of world No. 6 Serbia, No. 8 Lithuania, and No. 10 Italy, just to name a few.

USA head coach Steve Kerr, however, is not one to brush aside the importance and privilege of witnessing top-notch European basketball, especially after his squad lost in a stunner to Lithuania to close the second round.

“We have great respect for FIBA basketball. One of the things we have to do as USA Basketball coaches is we have to teach our guys that FIBA is a different game than the NBA,” he said. “The first order of business is to respect those differences, teach the different rules, let the guys know how good these teams are.”

“Lithuania was amazing the other night, and I didn’t see the game, but I understand Serbia was brilliant in beating Lithuania. There are a lot of great teams over here, so we respect that.”

Following Lithuania’s red-hot stunner of the USA, Serbia came in seemingly out of nowhere to immediately shut down the Balkans’ party in the knockout quarterfinals with a shocking 87-68 ouster.

As Serbia captain Bogdan Bogdanovic put it after the game, no one can relax at any point of the tournament, and Kerr is ecstatic that this kind of competition is still all around them even in the late stages of the World Cup.

“We love the fact that the game has gone global,” Kerr continued.

“There’s been great basketball in Serbia, the former Yugoslavia, Croatia, Montenegro, the whole region. There’s been great basketball there for a long, long time, and we respect that, and we know these teams are very difficult to beat.”

As of posting, only USA and Canada remain as non-European contenders. Surrounding them are Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, and Latvia – all with valid claims to the coveted World Cup gold.

“[Our guys] know what’s ahead. They know what the goal is, so I have no doubt they’ll come out with the same energy and same force in the next games,” Kerr concluded.