All-World Cup picks: theScore's 1st and 2nd teams for FIBA tourney

With the World Cup now in the books, it’s time to recognize the tournament’s standout performers.

As expected, many NBA players left a mark over the past two weeks, but there were also some pleasant surprises.

Here are our picks for the all-tournament first and second teams using a positionless format.

First team

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada ??

Gilgeous-Alexander was arguably the tournament’s best player. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard filled the box score nightly, serving as Canada’s lead scorer and facilitator. His shotmaking, court vision, and ability to slither into the paint gave opposing teams headaches throughout the competition.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics down the stretch against top-ranked Spain put Canada into the quarterfinals and clinched the nation’s first Olympic berth since 2000. The All-NBA first-team selection followed that up with the first 30-point, 10-rebound performance in a FIBA World Cup knockout game since 1994.

Canada may have fallen short of gold in Manila, but the country looks poised to contend for years with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way.

Luka Doncic, Slovenia ??

The Slovenians’ World Cup medal dreams came to a halt in the quarterfinals thanks to Canada’s resurgent run, but that the tiny nation of just 2.1 million made it that far at all was primarily thanks to Doncic. Just as he persistently does in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks star stuffed the stat sheet. He led his country in scoring, rebounding, and assists as Slovenia matched its personal-best seventh-place finish from 2014.

While it wasn’t enough to launch a deep knockout-stage run, opponents seemingly had no answer for Doncic and his bottomless bag of tricks. His 27 points per game rank atop the tournament’s leaderboard, as do his 216 total points; he’s just one of 11 players to ever eclipse 200 points at a single World Cup.

He may need a dependable right-hand man at the international level if Slovenia is to have medal aspirations in the near future, but considering this was only the 24-year-old’s first World Cup, there’s still plenty of time to sort that out.

Dennis Schroder, Germany ??

After scoring a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors in July, Schroder shifted his attention to Germany’s national squad this summer, and his focus paid off. The 29-year-old was stellar all tournament for the Germans. He capped off his sensational showing with a 28-point outpour in the final, claiming MVP of the tournament as Die Mannschaft not only claimed its first World Cup gold but only its second medal in six tournament appearances.

It’s difficult to overstate how immense Schroder was in making it all come together. He was both Germany’s top scorer and best playmaker, working almost effortlessly in tandem with Franz Wagner, who likely would’ve joined him on this list had it not been for the ankle injury that cost him four games in the opening two rounds.

It was in one of those games without Wagner, in fact, that Schroder first truly put Germany on his back this summer. A game-high 30 points in a tight win over Australia helped the Germans assume near-total control through the opening group stages.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Serbia ??

With reigning NBA champ Nikola Jokic missing the tournament after a lengthy season, someone was going to have to step up immensely for Serbia. Bogdanovic took on that mantle excellently.

The Atlanta Hawks vet was crucial in the Balkan country’s run to silver as not just a sharpshooting threat, but also a crafty passer unafraid of making the timely, extra dish. That playmaking caliber was evident in the semifinal against Canada, as he sliced through the defense on several occasions before setting up teammates with perfect last-second passes.

Bogdanovic and Co. ultimately came up just short, but the 31-year-old still turned in a solid display in the final. With 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting (3-of-5 from deep), five assists, three rebounds, plus a steal and a block apiece, there’s little else the Serbians could have demanded of their star.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Dominican Republic ??

Towns’ stint with the Dominican Republic was short-lived but incredibly impactful.

Though the Caribbean side finished last in its second-round group after going a perfect 3-0 in the opening stage, the Minnesota Timberwolves big had the side looking like a dangerous contender early on. In Round 2, Towns put up a 39-point double-double in a narrow loss to Puerto Rico – tied for the highest single-game scoring output all tourney – before dropping 25 and seven in a blowout loss to Serbia.

While 14th place is technically the country’s best finish at the World Cup – it’s never ranked above the competition’s midpoint – there’ll no doubt be expectations of improving in future editions if Towns sticks around.

Second team

Carlik Jones, South Sudan ??

Jones made the most of his time in the competition. The reigning G League MVP led all players in assists and registered the second-most dimes in a single World Cup contest, tallying 15 as South Sudan defeated Angola to earn Africa’s lone automatic Olympic berth.

Patty Mills, Australia ??

Mills has now scored 10 points or more in 19 consecutive World Cup games. Only Pau Gasol has a longer streak (24) in the 21st century.

Tremont Waters, Puerto Rico ??

Waters’ strong play brought Puerto Rico within a win of the quarterfinals. The 5-foot-10 floor general was one of three players to finish in the top 10 in both scoring and assists. He also recorded a tournament-leading 2.6 steals per game.

Anthony Edwards, United States ??

Edwards quickly emerged as the Americans’ go-to guy. The All-Star guard’s three-level scoring and defensive intensity was a bright spot amid another disappointing World Cup for Team USA.

Nikola Vucevic, Montenegro ??

Vucevic’s inside-out play powered Montenegro to a program-best 11th-place finish. His 18-point, 16-rebound showing against the U.S. in the second round kept Montenegro in striking distance through most of the contest.

Honorable mentions: Jordan Clarkson (Philippines), Nikola Milutinov (Serbia), Lauri Markkanen (Finland), Josh Hawkinson (Japan)