Overview

• The tournament runs Aug. 27–Sept. 14 with 24 teams in four groups of six, group play in Cyprus, Finland, Latvia and Poland, and all knockout games in Riga.
• Headliners include Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), Lauri Markkanen (Finland) and Franz Wagner (Germany).
• Serbia is widely viewed as the frontrunner after a 7-0 warm-up slate, with Jokic joined by NBA teammates Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic and Tristan Vukcevic.
• Victor Wembanyama is not playing for France, which still features rising NBA talents, while Spain arrives as the defending champion from 2022.
• Early group-phase highlights flagged by outlets include Greece vs. Italy (Aug. 28), Lithuania vs. Germany and France vs. Slovenia (both Aug. 30), Latvia vs. Serbia (Aug. 30) and Spain vs. Greece (Sept. 4).