The largest basketball competition, which features all of the top international teams, has begun. The winner will be declared after 38 games over 10 days are played among the teams. There will be 12 teams competing for the FIBA World Cup crown in 2022, and there are unquestionably some great athletes we should keep an eye on. Let’s look at their names:
Himawari Akaho
Himawari Akaho is a 24-year-old professional basketball player from Japan. She presently competes for the Japanese national team and Denso Iris in basketball. She earned a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, she also won silver medals at the Asia U-16 and U-18 Championships. Moreover, Akaho also won two gold medals, one from the 2019 FIBA Asia Cup and one from the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup. Meanwhile, in 2022, she made 61% field goal attempts, averaging 14.5 pints.
Carleton is a small forward playing for Canada, participated in the most recent FIBA World Cup 2018 and was named to ESPN’s second team All-American in 2019. She is averaging 3.5 assists per game with a 68% field goal percentage and 10 of 13 3-point attempts. She is 25 years old and presently competes for both the Canadian national team and the WNBA’SWNBA’S Lynx.
Stephanie Mawuli
Mawuli plays for the Women’s Japanese Basketball League team Toyota Antelopes (WJBL) and the Japanese national team. She was instrumental in helping the national U-23 3×3 team win the World Championship in 2019 and became the first person to win medals in both the 5×5 and 3×3 events at the Asian Games in 2018. Meanwhile, in 2022 she averaged 5.5 rebounds per game with a 50% field goal percentage and a 14.5 efficiency rating.
Jonquel Jones
Jonquel Jones, a center from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was selected with the sixth overall choice in the 2016 WNBA Draft. She was named the WNBA’s top blocker in 2019, the league’s MVP in 2021, and a four-time All-Star (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022). Meanwhile, she presently competes for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. She had represented Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national team since May 2019, when she was granted citizenship.
Natalie Achonwa
Achonwa became the newest member of the Canadian National Team in 2009. The power forward participated in the FIBA World Cup in 2010 and the London Olympics in 2012. However, she was forced to withdraw from the 2014 World Cup due to injuries. She turned on the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics in favor of the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup. Moreover, she is a center for the Canadian national team and the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.
Ezi Magbegor
Australian basketball player Ezi Magbegor competes for the Melbourne Boomers of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) in Australia and the Storm of the WNBA. She was the Australian team who qualified for the quarterfinals at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Moreover, she won the WNBA Championship in 2020 and was named to the All-WNBL First Team and WNBA All-Defensive Second Teams in 2022.
Gabby Williams
Williams helped France win silver at the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket in 2021 and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Meanwhile, she won the EuroLeague title with Sopron in 2022 and was voted Final Four MVP. Moreover, she got selected by the Sky in the 2018 WNBA draft. She is currently a member of the French national team and plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
Ramu Tokashiki
Tokashiki is playing for Japan and is joining the FIBA World Cup in 2022 with a lot of motivation to win the title. Although she missed the recent FIBA World Cup 2018 and the 2020 Tokyo Games, she is finally entering the world stage to excel. Meanwhile, she competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics and won two FIBA Women’s Asia Cup MVP awards in 2013 and 2015. She was also named to the 2015 WNBA All-Rookie Team. The WNBA’s Seattle Storm initially signed her in 2015 but has since switched to playing for the JX-Eneos Sunflowers of the Women’s Japan Basketball League (WJBL) and the Japanese national team.
Julie Allemand
Allemand is playing for Belgium. She demonstrated her talent at the previous World Cup in 2018, where she and France tied the mark for most assists in a single game. Meanwhile, the Indiana Fever selected her in the third round of the 2016 WNBA Draft. As one of the top point guards in the world, she also participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also plays for the Sky in the WNBA.
Tina Krajišnik
Serbian player Krajišnik excels on both ends of the field and is a defensive asset. She is regarded as Serbia’s anchor since she attracts defenders to her while projecting strength. She competed in the women’s EuroBasket in 2017 and 2021 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Moreover, she most recently participated in the WNBA team Chicago Sky. However, the power forward competes for Galatasaray (of Istanbul, Turkey) and the Serbian national team.
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