MIES (Switzerland) – Some of the best players in the world have shined at the previous six FIBA Basketball World Cups. The seventh edition in 2024 in Istanbul promises to be a major platform for many more future stars of world basketball.
We went through the rosters of the 16 teams to come up with a Top 20 of prospects for the tournament and came up with this list plus five players for Honorable Mention.
Mark down these names because they will certainly do great things in the future.
Before we look at the Top 10, here is a link to numbers 20-11 plus five Honorable Mention selections.
Daniels has some pretty big shoes to fill in terms of surname as older brother Dyson Daniels is playing in the NBA and has a legit chance of representing the Boomers at the 2024 Olympics.
Dash, who can really do it all at both ends for the Crocs, starred at the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2023, including collecting 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists against New Zealand in the Final.
Minzer is one of the few players in this competition who has already debuted with a pro team in Europe – playing in the Spanish Liga Endesa as well as the FIBA Europe Cup with Casademont Zaragoza.
The Argentina guard has an enticing skillset with good playmaking skills, a nice drive to the basket, solid outside shooting as well a real knack for coming up with steals. Minzer also played a year younger at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2024 a couple weeks ago and helped Argentina finish second.
Quinones represents one of the next top young stars in Puerto Rican basketball. The guard will be one year younger than the rest of the competition but he shined at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2023, flashing his all-around game with deadly scorer’s mentality, great ball-handling, strong drive to the basket, solid outside shot and excellent perimeter defense.
He also played at the recent FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2024 and was one of Puerto Rico’s leaders despite being two years younger as a 2008-born player.
Peat is already well known in FIBA U17 World Cup circles as he starred at the 2022 edition in making the All-Star Five despite being two years younger. The forward is finally playing with his own generation and there is no reason to think he won’t dominate.
Peat has good size and athleticism and is a tremendous rebounder, especially on the offensive glass. He can also drive to the lane and can play defense inside and outside.
Yimga will play a year younger than the rest of the players as a 2008-born player, but the forward has a great skillset with which he will wreak havoc on opposing teams. Yimga has a strong, athletic frame which he uses well to defend and rebound on the wing.
He can also get past his defender to the basket though his outside shooting is still inconsistent.
Many people see Soliman as the next future France superstar as the forward was born in 2009 – meaning he is two years younger than the rest of the competition and can play in this event in 2026 as well. Soliman has a nicely developed frame despite his age but still has room to grow into his body. He is very agile and coordinated and can play on the wing and inside.
He understands the game well at both ends and knows how to get his points when needed. Soliman rebounds well and also plays good defense, both on the wing and as a rim protector.
Osaruyi is another 2008-born player who expects to really stand out in Istanbul. The forward has good size and length and possesses a very athletic frame. Osaruyi can drive past bigger defenders to the basket and also has the strength to back down smaller ones.
He still needs to add range to his shot but can hit some triples. He is an excellent rebounder and also does a good job on defense, both grabbing steals and blocking shots.
Stokes is a true force of nature when he starts heading toward the basket – whether that is from the wing or after grabbing a defensive rebound and going coast to coast. Stokes, the No. 1 player in ESPN’s ranking for the 2026 USA high school class, is a constant lob threat, can pass the ball a bit and also has become a bit more consistent from the outside.
He excels at defense as well – both on-ball and off-ball. Offensive players have to be aware of his presence because of his quick hands and also his great leaping abilities that make him an excellent shot-blocker.
Boozer along with his twin brother Cayden Boozer are the sons of former NBA star and Olympic gold medallist Carlos Boozer. Cameron is an absolute nightmare for opposing teams at both ends. The MVP of the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2023, Boozer has great size and length and a very strong frame, which he uses along with his good handle to get to the basket at will.
Boozer has good range from the outside and also has great understanding of the game to playmake as well. Defensively, Boozer can guard on the perimeter even though he towers over opponents’ guards. And he is a great mistake eraser with his superb shotblocking skills.
Dybantsa is a scoring machine thanks to his great size, length and strength coming from the wing with good handles. The No. 1 player in ESPN’s ranking for the 2025 USA high school class – ahead of No. 2 Cameron Boozer – Dybantsa has a serious high-flying game and will probably have multiple plays in the Top 10 at the end of the tournament.
He also has a strong mid-range game and his outside shoot is still improving. Defensively, Dybantsa doesn’t let many offensive players past him from the wing and he can swat their shots if they do get by him.
FIBA
